Skip to main content

Air Cell (Ho)

Artist Nagakura Kenichi Japanese, 1952-2018
Place of OriginShizuoka prefecture, Japan; Shizuoka prefecture
Date1998
CultureJapanese
MaterialsBamboo (madake variety) and bamboo root; twining, mat plaiting, and irregular plaiting
DimensionsOverall: H. 13 1/4 in × W. 11 5/8 × D. 9 in (33.7 cm × 29.5 cm × 22.9 cm)
Credit LineLloyd Cotsen Japanese Bamboo Basket Collection
Object number2006.3.818
DepartmentJapanese Art
ClassificationsDecorative Arts
On View
Not on view
Text Entries

Nagakura Kenichi treats bamboo as a purely sculptural medium. He creates unconventional, organic forms, sometimes accented with pieces of found wood and coated with finishes of his own creation. Nagakura spent years learning traditional bamboo techniques from his grandfather before innovating his own style. Bamboo, says the artist, is an ideal material to express nature: “Bamboo can be either delicate like a spider web or solid as stone, thus embodying the natural cycles of the world.”*

*Nagakura Kenichi, Cultural News (2010).

Hundred (Hyaku)
Nagakura Kenichi
2000
Apple (Ringo)
Nagakura Kenichi
1998
Coral Reef
Monden Kogyoku
1998
Bamboo Cluster (Muratake)
Nagakura Kenichi
2001
Flower basket
Kensai
approx. 1925-1975
Flower basket
approx. 1925-1950
Shallow fruit basket
approx. 1925-1950
Flower basket with handle
Tani Suikosai
approx. 1920-1940