Sculptural beauty and technical flair highlight Japanese ceramics and
baskets from the Snider Collection
The blossoming of contemporary crafts in Japan that began in the
twentieth century is rooted in a long and rich tradition of exquisite
design and technical accomplishment. Featuring some 100 works by close
to 60 artists, Fired Earth, Woven Bamboo showcases the range of
creative approaches in Japanese ceramics and bamboo art beginning in the
postwar period and focusing on the past three decades. Some artists
choose to break out of the bounds of vessel shapes to create wildly
sculptural forms, whereas others choose to pursue individual expression
through more nuanced approaches. All engage in dialogue with their
materials as well as with traditional forms, functions, and techniques.
The works that spring from their hands--delicate or monumental, humorous
or spiritual, rustic or sophisticated--testify to the vitality of the
contemporary crafts movement and to the marvelous variety of artistic
achievement it has fostered. Enhanced with historical and biographical
essays by a leading expert on Japanese crafts, Fired Earth, Woven
Bamboo provides a fascinating tour of contemporary ceramic and bamboo
arts in Japan as well as an introduction to the riches of the Mary Ann
and Stanley Snider Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
