Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at Young V&A
Design Gallery, The Factory, Case 1

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Free Essence-6 (Ku-6)

Sculpture
2009 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ikuta Niyoko is a Kyoto-based artist whose work has been much acclaimed ever since she started exhibiting in the early 1980s. Her work has been collected by numerous Japanese museums and is also represented in the USA by institutions such as the Corning Museum of Glass. In its 1995 Japanese Studio Crafts: Tradition and the Avant-Garde exhibition, the V&A showed a work from the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT). The V&A's contemporary Japanese glass collection is still relatively modest, consisting of what are nevertheless substantial works by leading figures such as Fujita Kyohei (1921-2004), Takeuchi Denji (b.1934), Yokoyama Naoto (b.1937) and the younger Takahashi Yoshihiko (b.1958). Yufuku Gallery's inclusion of this spectacular work by Ikuta Niyoko in COLLECT 2009 provided a fine opportunity to acquire a piece of contemporary glass by a highly respected Japanese maker who employs harshness of material and severity of process to achieve a remarkable sense of fluidity and sensuality. The artist has recently written of her work in the following terms:

'I am captivated by the complexity of light as it reflects, refracts, and passes through broken cross sections of plate glass. In 1980 I began making artwork by laminating sheets of glass using adhesive and exposing the cross sections. My motifs are derived from: feelings of gentleness and harshness, fear, and limitless expansion experienced through contact with nature, images from music, ethnic conflict, the heart affected by joy and anger, and prayer. In creating my pieces it is like imagining an architectural space when viewing blueprints, deciding on an image by reading into the intentions of the architect, or imbuing a space with dynamic energy to bring it to life. I am nervous when placing my finished work of art in a specific space, but I also enjoy it.'


Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Sculpture
  • Storage Box
TitleFree Essence-6 (Ku-6) (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Ikuta Niyoko, sculpture, 'Free Essence-6 (Ku-6)', laminated sheet glass, Japan, by IKUTA Niyoko (1953-), 2009; Japan, modern crafts, studio, glass
Physical description
Sculpture made of laminated sheet glass
Dimensions
  • Height: 35cm
  • Width: 46cm
  • Depth: 29cm
  • Weight: 16.70kg
Credit line
Presented by Art Fund
Summary
Ikuta Niyoko is a Kyoto-based artist whose work has been much acclaimed ever since she started exhibiting in the early 1980s. Her work has been collected by numerous Japanese museums and is also represented in the USA by institutions such as the Corning Museum of Glass. In its 1995 Japanese Studio Crafts: Tradition and the Avant-Garde exhibition, the V&A showed a work from the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT). The V&A's contemporary Japanese glass collection is still relatively modest, consisting of what are nevertheless substantial works by leading figures such as Fujita Kyohei (1921-2004), Takeuchi Denji (b.1934), Yokoyama Naoto (b.1937) and the younger Takahashi Yoshihiko (b.1958). Yufuku Gallery's inclusion of this spectacular work by Ikuta Niyoko in COLLECT 2009 provided a fine opportunity to acquire a piece of contemporary glass by a highly respected Japanese maker who employs harshness of material and severity of process to achieve a remarkable sense of fluidity and sensuality. The artist has recently written of her work in the following terms:

'I am captivated by the complexity of light as it reflects, refracts, and passes through broken cross sections of plate glass. In 1980 I began making artwork by laminating sheets of glass using adhesive and exposing the cross sections. My motifs are derived from: feelings of gentleness and harshness, fear, and limitless expansion experienced through contact with nature, images from music, ethnic conflict, the heart affected by joy and anger, and prayer. In creating my pieces it is like imagining an architectural space when viewing blueprints, deciding on an image by reading into the intentions of the architect, or imbuing a space with dynamic energy to bring it to life. I am nervous when placing my finished work of art in a specific space, but I also enjoy it.'
Collection
Accession number
FE.63-2009

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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