21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Collection of National Crafts Museum
KITAGAWA Hiroto, TU07005 – Skinhead, 2007
KITAGAWA Hiroto, TU07007 – Dots, 2007
NAKAMURA Shinkyo, Rome Far Away, 2018
Axel Roman LUKAS, Untitled, 2000
Axel Roman LUKAS, Untitled, 2001

Collection of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
KITAGAWA Hiroto, New Type 2005 – white, 2005
KITAGAWA Hiroto, New Type 2005 – dress, 2005
KITAGAWA Hiroto, New Type 2005 – green, 2005
KITAGAWA Hiroto, New Type 2005 – blue, 2005
NAKAMURA Shinkyo, Shining sea, 2010
NAKAMURA Shinkyo, Roman saint looking at holy light, 2011
NAKAMURA Shinkyo, Church, 2011
Grayson PERRY, Plight of the Sensitive Child, 2003
Grayson PERRY, What's not to like?, 2006

KITAGAWA Hiroto

Born in 1967 in Shiga, Japan. Lives and works in Tokyo.
After graduating from Kanazawa College of Art in 1989 with a degree in sculpture, Hiroto Kitagawa felt uninterested in the monumental outdoor sculpture prevalent in Japan at the time and went to study in Italy, where the figurative sculpture that had always been his central interest still thrived. Fascinated by the ancient terra cotta technique he encountered there, Kitagawa mastered this technique and applied it to creation of New Type, a series of human figures reminiscent of Japanese anime characters. Since his return to Japan in 2005, he has developed them further with the Post-New Type series. He has consistently pursued a unique approach to rendering of the figure, using acrylic paint to bring out the warm texture of clay.
In the ordinary young people he encounters amid the hustle and bustle of the city and in their nonchalant attitudes, Kitagawa sees the potential for new forms of human life, which he sculpts in clay. He has chosen terra cotta, low-temperature-fired ceramic that is the closest to untreated clay of any ceramic technique, as the flesh to embody contemporary humans’ floating identities as beings that are still evolving. To bring out the clay’s texture, he paints the figures with acrylic after firing them. The surface of the terra cotta easily absorbs the water-based acrylic paint, and hence the natural texture of the clay can be maintained without a membrane of paint forming over it. New Type 2005 was the first group of life-sized figures by Kitagawa, who returned to Japan in 2005 after 14 years working in Italy, and was also the conclusion of his New Type series. The approximately 170 cm tall figures are named white, dress, green, and blue respectively according to the colors of their clothing and the characteristics of their appearance. They may at first appear devoid of expression, but their dignified independence evokes a peculiar air of nostalgia.

NAKAMURA Shinkyo

Born 1957 in Fukuoka, Japan, where he lives and works.
Nakamura was born in Fukuoka City as the eldest son of second-generation doll maker Nakamura Engai (holder of a Fukuoka Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property). After studying doll crafting in Kyoto, he returned to Fukuoka and took over the family’s Hakata doll business in 1980. He studied under doll artisan Hayashi Komao (holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property, commonly known as a Living National Treasure). In 1989 he became a full member of the Japan Kogei Association. While he primarily exhibits his work at the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition, Nakamura Shinkyo’s hybrid and highly contemporary style combines the respective strengths of Japanese and Western sculpture. In recent years, he has also created large-scale outdoor sculptures and installations.
The works on view deal with the theme of the Tensho embassy, and each figure is imbued with symbolic meanings such as the sea, the sun, and the moon. The Tensho embassy was a delegation headed by four youths who were dispatched to Rome in 1582 as emissaries of three Kyushu kirishitan daimyo (Japanese Christian domain lords) named Otomo Sorin, Omura Sumitada, and Arima Harunobu. This played an important role in making Japan’s presence known in Europe. The beautiful group of works conveys the tale of the Tensho embassy with a romantic atmosphere. While expressing the atmosphere of the time in terms of clothing and hairstyles, the artist has added elements from his own imagination, and each figure has a distinct facial expression and pose. The works depict an encounter with an exotic civilization beyond the sea in a manner reminiscent of epic poetry.

Axel Roman LUKAS

Born 1962 in Northeim, Germany. Lives and works in Berlin. After studying store and window display design, Axel Roman Lukas began making dolls in 1983. He works in cast porcelain, and while his style appears highly realistic he does not work from specific models or photographs, but rather draws from his own experiences and memories while making minimal use of references. His distinctive style can be seen in the balance of the eyes, nose, and limbs of each figure. Coloration subtly different from that of actual human beings also suggests that the figures dwell in the realm of fantasy. Lukas’s work is shaped through “gathering of experience,” which is not limited to personal experiences and memories, but also includes influences. Rather than seeking to create an exact replica of anything seen, he draws on inspirations to create something entirely new. In doing so he does not emphasize distinctions between the genres of dolls and sculpture, but rather focuses on the creation of humanoid forms (i.e. hitogata). The works also capitalize on the unique material qualities of translucent kaolin (porcelain clay). This is the same material used for traditional bisque dolls, and application of paint on the dolls’ surfaces achieves a vividly realistic presence and gives the impression of light emanating from within.

Grayson PERRY

Born 1960 in Chelmsford, UK. Lives and works in London.
Since the mid-1980s, Perry has dealt with themes of violence, prejudice, sexual repression, culture, religion, and the nature of the self in works imbued with cutting insight as well as both humor and fantasy. Perry’s richly colored and decorated ceramics feature contemporary subjects painted on the surfaces of vases with classical forms, creating a multilayered interplay of color and ornamentation that expands the boundaries of the viewer’s imagination. His genre-bending activities, ranging from ceramics, sculpture, photography, and printmaking to quilting, dress design, and cross-dressing, have garnered international acclaim, and in 2003 he was awarded the Turner Prize for British visual artists.
Plight of the Sensitive Child at first appears to show a scene of children playing innocently, but a closer look reveals girls holding weapons and drugs and what appears to be an accident scene rendered in a deadpan manner, shedding light on shadows of violence and oppression that are omnipresent in everyday life. What’s not to like?, a giant vase bedecked with various consumer products, brand logos, soccer players, and models, ironically depicts contemporary consumption habits with over-the-top decorative extravagance. While the techniques and forms of vases, and ceramics in general, tend to lull the viewer into a sense of familiarity and harmlessness, Perry subverts these preconceptions so as to throw open the door to his own world and pull the viewer into confrontation with his works. Perry’s approach to unveiling truths about human nature with a sharp critical spirit and sense of humor is common across his work in all manner of mediums. He often appears in his own works dressed as a woman, and in photographs where his female alter ego Claire wears a dress reminiscent of an ethnic costume and holds a gun, he directly introduces his own body and identity into the mix while also illuminating violence and other universal social issues.