The other day, I visited Gallery Marronnier to see Kogei Art Kyoto artist Mr. Shogo Okamoto‘s solo exhibition.
Mr. Okamoto is the eldest son of Menya Shoho, the 14th generation of the Mensho family. This lineage of doll makers dates back to the Hoei era (1704-1710) of the Edo period.
He is engaged in creating traditional Kyoto dolls and contemporary artworks that draw on the techniques and spirit of doll-making.
This solo exhibition is entitled “Creation of Heaven and Earth,” based on the theme “Can we create the shape of a human being without creating heaven and earth – doll makers?
The first exhibit, entitled “Floating Clouds”—Life-Size Clouds, is a mixed-media work using cotton and other materials.
Cotton is also a material used to make doll cushions.
Suspended by a single piece of string creates a natural floating feeling, creating a cozy space.
On the same floor, in a glass mini-case exhibit titled “STONE Petrify 0,” a “stone” imitating a natural stone is displayed using the technique of Kyoto dolls.
Mr. Okamoto describes these works
The “stones” displayed here are made of the same basic materials as those used in doll-making, and the only difference between the two is whether we are looking at a superficial human form or a stone. The difference is only that I am looking at a superficial human form or a natural stone.
In other words, man and nature are the same.
On the other floor, the “Tengeiken (Tengei Sword),” made of forged titanium and finished with many coats of gofun, a technique used for Kyoto dolls, rises out of the darkness.
The “Tengeiken” uses the technique of “wiping” with gofun, which has been cultivated in the doll-making process, to put the spirit of the doll and its power into the metal sword. It asks whether the doll protects people, whether the sword also protects its owner, and whether the spirit is the same.
