Artist:
Jun Kaneko
Title:
Dangos
Year:
2013
Adress:
Millennium Parc (temporary)
www.cityofchicago.org:
As a pioneer in the field of monumental ceramic sculpture, Jun Kaneko has played with scale and proportion and this installation is representative of his past and present artistic practices.
Works presented in the South Boeing Galleries featured Kaneko’s signature Dangos (meaning 'rounded form' or 'dumpling' in Japanese). These ceramic steles, covered in a variety of vibrant shapes and patterns, allowed viewers to examine their environment and focus on a sense of scale and place.
The Dango form links Kaneko’s work to minimalist sculptors who played with simple and large forms, while at the same time, the pattern overlays show formal aspects – in repeating geometric shapes – similar to those of minimalist painters.
In a new body of work, Kaneko is drawing upon the myths and legends of the Tanuki figure. From ancient times, the Japanese have expressed the Tanuki in a variety of ways, for it is considered to be a trickster who causes trouble and mayhem in both the human and supernatural worlds. In our modern era, however, the figure is most commonly portrayed as a large, stout badger. The Tanuki is not only a creature found in mythology, but a small, nocturnal mammal native to East Asia.
www.dsmpublicartfoundation.org:
This temporary public art project featuring Jun Kaneko’s monumental ceramic sculptures is on view through November 3, 2013 at Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois.
As a pioneer in the field of monumental ceramic sculpture, Jun Kaneko has played with scale and proportion and this installation is representative of his past and present artistic practices.
Works presented in the South Boeing Galleries featured Kaneko’s signature Dangos (meaning 'rounded form' or 'dumpling' in Japanese). These ceramic steles, covered in a variety of vibrant shapes and patterns, allowed viewers to examine their environment and focus on a sense of scale and place.
The Dango form links Kaneko’s work to minimalist sculptors who played with simple and large forms, while at the same time, the pattern overlays show formal aspects – in repeating geometric shapes – similar to those of minimalist painters.
In a new body of work, Kaneko is drawing upon the myths and legends of the Tanuki figure. From ancient times, the Japanese have expressed the Tanuki in a variety of ways, for it is considered to be a trickster who causes trouble and mayhem in both the human and supernatural worlds. In our modern era, however, the figure is most commonly portrayed as a large, stout badger. The Tanuki is not only a creature found in mythology, but a small, nocturnal mammal native to East Asia.
www.dsmpublicartfoundation.org:
This temporary public art project featuring Jun Kaneko’s monumental ceramic sculptures is on view through November 3, 2013 at Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois.