Contemporary Wood Carved Nestuke

Sat 27 Jun 2020 to Sun 02 Aug 2020

Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery

Te Uru is pleased to be hosting ‘Contemporary Wood Carved Nestuke’, a travelling exhibition organised by the Japan Foundation and the Consulate-General of Japan in Auckland in Te Uru’s Learning Centre Gallery. This innovative contemporary craft exhibition presents 65 works by contemporary netsuke carvers and artists. Visitors will be able to explore the subtle and highly artistic skills, and playfulness, embodied in netsuke and consider the practicality and charm of netsuke today. The exhibition includes netsuke that can be held, so the tactility of the items can be experienced first-hand. “When contemporary artists and contemporary netsuke carvers confront the concepts of sculpture and netsuke, their contexts, genealogies, and traditions overlap. Attempting creative work that presents ”netsuke-like“ appropriateness and “difference without difference” signifies the current era's ceaseless search for “newness“, regardless of whether the field is fine art or netsuke. It is a quest that resonates in both fields. That resonance is incorporated in the display of works on our platform, the international traveling exhibition.” — The Japan Foundation