The Paper learned that on May 20, the special exhibition "Gaze Across Time and Space - Fujimura Shin's Painting in Dialogue with Chinese Ancient Porcelain" opened at the North Bund Art Museum, and the exhibits included Fujimura's well-known works, including "Walking on the Water", "Resonance of Life - Prospect", "Grace Still Exists - Jatamanson", etc.; At the same time, the North Bund Art Museum selected Qianlong blue-and-white enamel vases and other antique porcelain from the treasures in the museum's collection.
"Mountain prospecting, ore burning, stone transportation, crushed stone, sieving and washing,...... from mining to blanking to glaze firing and finally transportation, the completion of porcelain requires at least 72 processes, each of which requires the experience, knowledge, patience and luck of craftsmen. The peacock blue glaze of the Yuan Dynasty, the Song Yuan Jun kiln, the glaze color and the monochrome glaze of the Ming and Qing dynasties are all natural mineral glazes used locally, such as gold, blue copper, silver, lapis lazuli, agate, red sapphire, etc., which can be described as one color in the kiln and thousands of colors out of the kiln.
"The first time I saw Fujimura's work, I thought of Chinese official kiln porcelain. Rich colors, delicate textures, and his unique abstraction reinterprets the traditional ancient Japanese rock painting Nihonga, which uses precious natural mineral materials like Chinese official kiln porcelain, layered on top of each other, and some works even need to be brushed with 80 to 100 layers, which is a rare 'slow art' today. Cai Shiyin, director of the North Bund Art Museum, said.
"Gaze Across Time and Space - Dialogue with Chinese Ancient Porcelain in Fujimura's Paintings" porcelain on display
A painting by Shin Fujimura on display
At the exhibition site, Fujimura's blues abstract "Walking on the Water - Grace" forms a set of dialogue relationships with the Yuan Dynasty blue-glazed seawater dragon pattern auxiliary first can, and its green, blue and red tones of "New Wine" are juxtaposed with the Qing Dynasty kiln glazed six-square zun, and the natural multi-color is also particularly suitable.
Makoto Fujimura is a Japanese-American artist. Fujimura was selected to enter Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan's highest art institution, where he obtained a master's degree in artistic creation with honors, and immediately after graduation, he was apprenticed by the master of the Japanese school of painting Rinzo Kazan (1927-2004), and completed a post-master's degree in artistic creation. While at Tokyo University of the Arts, he became classmates of renowned artists such as Murakami Takashi and Hiroshi Senju to pursue a doctorate in Japanese painting. Shin Fujimura's works are widely exhibited and collected in galleries and museums around the world. The work debuted at the 2022 Shanghai West Bund Art Fair.
A painting by Shin Fujimura on display
Opening view of the exhibition "Gaze Across Time and Space: Dialogue with Chinese Ancient Porcelain by Shin Fujimura's Paintings"
In 1992, Fujimura founded the International Arts Movement and in 2011 the Fujimura Institute, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate of art from Behan University (2011), Biola University (2012), and Cairn University (2014). Fujimura was appointed to the National Arts Council from 2003 to 2009.
Fujimura's paintings insist on using precious natural materials such as natural mineral pigments, gold leaf, silver leaf, and century-old ink, and he grinds natural colored minerals such as turquoise green and azurine into fine powder, and then covers them layer by layer on paper. Each layer takes time to dry, and a total of 60 to 80 layers, or even as many as 150 layers, may be used in a single piece. The effects of water quality, water patterns, and color in the painting may not be visible at the time, and it will take several years to appear. "My paintings, like porcelain, are like trying to open a door to time in the future. On the one hand, we can seem to expect the final result, but we must also take the time to wait patiently for the final result. Fujimura said.
A painting by Shin Fujimura on display
"Gaze Across Time and Space - Dialogue with Chinese Ancient Porcelain in Fujimura's Paintings" porcelain on display
The official kiln porcelain exhibited this time also undergoes 72 processes, and clay, metal, and powder are forged and waited in the hands of craftsmen to become works of art that are forged and waiting to be passed down through the hands of craftsmen, spanning Eastern and Western cultures, and paying tribute to the wonder of life at the same construction site.
Exhibition view of "Gaze Across Time and Space: Dialogue with Chinese Ancient Porcelain by Shin Fujimura's Paintings"
Exhibition view of "Gaze Across Time and Space: Dialogue with Chinese Ancient Porcelain by Shin Fujimura's Paintings"
Curator Wang Chunjie said: "In the period of rapid development of digitalization and fluorescent screens, the aesthetics of handicraft are rare in contemporary times. Fujimura uses natural mineral materials to create works, sparing the consumption of time, emphasizing 'grinding' and 'slowness', reactivating people's intimate feelings of handmade objects. He combines the natural materials of traditional art with the language of contemporary abstract art, and translates them into a unique spiritual texture in painting. ”
Exhibition view of "Gaze Across Time and Space: Dialogue with Chinese Ancient Porcelain by Shin Fujimura's Paintings"
It is reported that the exhibition will last until June 18.