FAT HER & S O N: 107 YE A RS OF BAMBOO A R T There are no words that could ever fully express my feelings of respect, gratitude, and affection for Monden Kogyoku, his son Yuichi and their respective wives. Visiting the Monden household is always one of the highlights of going to Japan. I have always told Mrs. Monden that if I had a Japanese mother, I would want it be her because she makes the best rice balls wrapped with nori I have ever eaten. Their openness to Western visitors and my visits coupled with their joy of the acceptance of their art work by Westerners fills my heart with happiness. The career of Monden Kogyoku over the past seventy years is remarkable. It is reflective of the tumultuousness of the emergence of modern Japan. Monden’s willingness to sacrifice his artistic career in post - war Japan in order to provide a better future for his wife and children is indicative of the strength of his character. Thinking of the thousands and thousands of bamboo kitchen utensils he made instead of the great bamboo art work he created before and then after the restart of his artistic career makes my heart heavy with this loss to the art world. At the age of 90, Monden suffered a serious life threatening illness. He recovered but stopped making art for two years until, suddenly in late 2008, he went back into his studio and began to create spectacular new sculptures in innovative ways. At first sight the power and freshness of these sculptures appear to be the art work of a much younger artist, but are not. They are reflective of an artist who, working with bamboo for seven decades, engages with its unique properties in inventive ways. The other treat of this exhibition is a survey of earlier bamboo pieces that show Monden’s continuous incredible technical ability coupled with his artistic sensitivity. Cover: Monden Kogyoku Flowering Wave (detail) 2005, 20 x 16 x 14 inches Left: Monden Kogyoku Revive 1946, 11 diameter x 12 1/2 inches
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