From DiscoverNikkei.org

Jun Kaneko

Ceramic sculptor (b.1942)

Interview with Kaneko in the artist's Omaha studio by George Neubert, director of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. First aired on August 30, 1993. Additional images of Kaneko's work.

Exhibitions & Works

Exhibitions

Solo exhibition of new works in kilnformed glass. 40 cast glass slabs and a 42-foot long spiraling wall of glass threads. Created during the project but not included in the Portland showing is a set of five multi-colored slabs that were loaned to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London shortly after completion.
"Representing over three years of collaboration with Portland’s Bullseye Glass factory, the project continues Kaneko’s involvement with the manufacturer that was initiated in 1997 and has resulted in the creation of a body of works in glass that are both monumental in scale and singular in their material approach."
  • "Jun Kaneko" (Dallas, Gerald Peters Gallery, February 4-March 19, 2005)
"This Texas debut exhibition features paintings on canvas, delicate monochromatic works on Korean rice paper, and both indoor and outdoor ceramic sculpture."
Vanessa Bruce, "Japanese ceramicist Kaneko exhibits at Gerald Peters Gallery". The University News, March 2, 2005.
"Kaneko creates simplified organic forms in clay accentuated with colorful patterned glazes. Sometimes towering up to 11 feet in height, Kaneko's massive sculptures combine amiable good humor with strength, grace, and timeless mystery. His forms convey a largeness of spirit with their sheer physical weight and monumental scale."
"The show features a selection of Kaneko's signature Dango sculptures, which are named after a similarly shaped type of Japanese dumpling. Also included are several wall-mounted platters embellished with rich layers of glaze applications in bold patterns, and a set of large-scale human heads engaged in a silent dialogue."
The exhibition web site includes a lengthy resume, including a selected list of exhibitions from 1997-2004.
Press release from William Traver Gallery-Seattle.
  • "Jun Kaneko Solo Exhibition" (Oslo, Galleri Brandstrup, June 22-August 3, 2003)
Janet Koplos, "Jun Kaneko at Galleri Brandstrup - Oslo … the ceramist is known for innovative glazing". Art in America, December 2003 (Republished at LookSmart.com)
"The 18 mostly untitled pieces dating from 1987 to 2003 that he showed indoors at Brandstrup (which occupies the second floor of a grand mid-19th-century house) included tiles, planks leaning against the wall, pedestal objects and some of the large forms he calls Dango after a Japanese dumpling. Outdoors on the broad lawn were three additional Dango works, each around 7 feet tall."
  • "Jun Kaneko" (Atlanta, Fay Gold Gallery, May 2-June 7, 2003)
"This exhibition highlights some of Kaneko's newest developments in the search for purity of form and composition. The stripe has been his main formal decorative devise; splashes of black on the wall pieces are a unifying compositional tool for Kaneko. Spirals and patterns on the Dangos invite optical vibration and create structures where serenity and chaos are interdependent."
Ceramics, painting, cast glass, and works on paper.
"This will be the largest major showing of his work to be presented to the Midwest."
  • "Jun Kaneko" (Seattle, William Traver Gallery-Seattle, September 6-29, 2002)
"The exhibition will feature six wall slabs, two acrylic paintings, six ink and oil stick drawings, and seven of Kaneko's 'dangos' -- sculptures that tower as high as 7'6"."
"The artist, renowned for his monolithic ceramic sculptures and expansive public art projects, continues his investigations in glass with multi-colored panels and suspended light towers."
  • "Jun Kaneko" (Chicago, Klein Art Works, October 19-November 24, 2001)
Exhibition included four "dangos" ("dumplings") and sixteen recent wall slabs produced during Kaneko's residence at the European Ceramic Work Center in the Netherlands.

Works

Queensland, Australia; Queensland Art Gallery
"Opera Omaha has commissioned the internationally acclaimed visual artist and Omaha resident, Jun Kaneko, to create the sets and costumes for this stunning new production."
Web site includes four of Kaneko's costume sketches.
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