Japanese Bamboo Art

It was in Bangkok that I went to an exhibition of work by bamboo craftsmen from Beppu in the south of Japan. I go to quite a few exhibitions and sometimes I get a little jaded. So I went in with little expectation. It turned out to be the most beautiful and moving collection of work I have ever seen. I stayed all afternoon, read every word, watched every video and stared at every piece until my eyes hurt!

These makers have it all - incredible imagination coupled with astounding technique. They seem to be limited by neither. Until a few years ago these makers only made one or two sculptural pieces a year for local competitions and scraped a living by making simple wares to be sold locally. Luckily a couple of wealthy US collectors saw the work and began promoting it. Now there a couple of galleries in the US and in Italy selling the work which goes for as much as any high end guitar.

These pictures have been taken from the Tai gallery in Santa Fe. If you look up Japanese Bamboo, Beppu, you will find there are a few recently published books on the subject. They are stunning.

The exhibition inspired me to take the overnight ferry from Osaka down to Beppu to visit the Beppu Bamboo Crafts centre. It is a funny old town famous for its hot springs, but it is where I bought myself a rather nice little bamboo vase which now has pride of place on my sideboard. Not as spectacular as the pieces here but still a breathtaking display of taste and skill.

My hope is that somehow this wonderful work somehow infiltrates it's way into mine.

Time will tell.