The sense of substance and significance of materials becomes more lighthearted through handicraft.

The 21st century, Japan and Taiwan Contemporary Craft Arts Exhibition

The skills of professionals, the lightness of fingertips, and the feeling of delicacy; the expression of Japanese contemporary art is often limited to sub-cultural elements. In reality, there are many rising artists who have a new Japanese spirit that cannot be categorized in this category. Although materials are still their basis, but they have positions and contact with the material differing from the “Mono-ha” art movement started in the 1960s, the final artwork is completed only after the fine handiwork of the artist.

Instead of creating something, "Mono-ha" artists tend to re-build “materials,” and also pay attention to the environment that surrounds the “materials.” They recreate new relationships based on the interdependent relationship between the two elements and challenging the established concept of collapsing material. This type of basic processing method toward “materials” seems similar to the artists participating in the exhibition, but because the “Mono-ha” era is already unlike the modern era, the modern artists have different feelings toward “materials,” and the expression methods of the artwork are also extremely different.

So what kind of era are we in now? The artists participating in this exhibition were all born in the 1970s, where they experienced the eras of mass production and mass consumption, and grew up surrounded by numerous consumer products and information. They lived in an era of ambiguity, where the importance of materials as well as what to believe is a constant issue they faced. Although the production process of their artwork is similar to “Mono-ha,” but they hold different feelings toward “materials” and the artwork they create appears similar to Contemporary Airy Crafts.

In addition, handcrafting allows the sense of substance and significance of materials to become more lighthearted, and can be said to be a unique Japanese characteristic. In China, the more handcrafting involved, the more ornamental the material appears, and the sense of substance and significance becomes more burdensome. This type of artwork which allows the viewer to sense a delicate handcraft touch also cannot be found in Korea which values surface appearances. This type of new Japanese artist that meticulously completes light craftwork by hand may be called the “Mono-ha” artists of the 21st Century.

Iida Ryuta sculpts as a creative means, carefully cutting up books. Kaneuji Teppei takes advantage of the heterogeneity of materials and combines them to form rhythmic works. The creativity of SHIMURABROS. extends over various domains. In "手感的妙PART1," the works created from different materials such as paper, plastic, paint, photography, and videos by these three Japanese artists exhibiting the playful exchanges between "media" and "field" are scattered around the exhibition space.

In the "手感的妙 PART2," Izumi Keiji creates unbelievable wood sculptures of imaginary people; Iwasaki Takahiro takes towels and the threads from book bindings to create a new world; and Taiwanese artists Mia Wen-Hsuan Liu who cleverly uses paper materials as well as Llunc Lin who can create through the perfect combination of scientific materials such as acrylic, gather their works to form this exhibition. Different “materials” such as wood, thread, paper, and scientific materials fill this open space.

These different and complex body of artworks that extend over “materials,” “media,” and “fields” exhibit a new Japanese mentality. Along with the two new age Taiwanese artists, the collaboration between the two parties this time in this exhibition this time will open a new horizon for the East Asian art world.

Panel Discussion：2010.01.10(Sat) 2:00 pm（Taipei Artist Village）
Artist：SHIMURABROS.、Kaneuji Teppei、Iida Ryuta
Panelists：Kaneshima Takahiro、Iida Ryuta、SHIMURABROS.、Lin, Llunc、Liu, Wen-Hsuan