Friday, May 18th, 2012 Vroom Journal - Art Radio Seattle - Photo Essays RSS
Blog Roll
About Last Night [national] Modern Art Notes [national] Regina Hackett [Ex-Seattle PI] James Wagner [NYC] Edward Winkleman [NYC] Fallon and Rosof's artblog [philly] Matthew Langley [DC] icono duel [chicago] Sally McKay [toronto] keith tilford [cyberspace] B. Tipton [Seattle Art Blog] Studio Notebook by Carolyn Zick [seattle] PORT [portland or] Eva Lake's diary [portland or] art blogging la [LA] Art Dish HankBlog [Henry Art Gallery] BurkeBlog [Burke Museum] The Art Newspaper

 
Copyright
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
Check PageRank
KOBO which in Japanese translates as "artist's workspace" attempts to create an environment in which one can interact with the artisan's work and get to know the artist who made it, whether the pieces are from Japan or created by an artist living in the United States.
KOBO first opened in Seattle in 1995 and has become a focal point for those in the Northwest and beyond who have an appreciation for Japanese and Northwest fine crafts. KOBO specializes in both traditional and contemporary works, offering a selection of objects and functional forms in clay, fiber, metal, wood, bamboo, textile and paper.

Kobo Gallery features the evocative sculpture of J. Brems this month. The Gallery, located in the historic Loveless Building, features large biomorphic abstract sculpture that seems to be a stylistic fusion of the late Jean/Hans Arp and his first wife Sophie Tauber-Arp. Using materials like mahogany wood, Brems also shares an affinity for the beauty inherent in the materials themselves that Arp possessed.

Stackable sculptures represent in negative space the woodcut illustrations Arp created for the little reviews Cabaret Voltaire and Der Dada #1. Like both Arps, Brems is interested in the form of the doll and the intersection between play and creative expression. Rather than coming from a Dadaistic impulse, the artist seems to be more basically primal in approach.

"Dolls have always been a part of human culture, in many forms and in many places. Ancient cultures often used dolls in sacrifices and rituals designed to ensure the fertility of crops or even protection from illness or war, many cultures, both ancient and modern, regard certain dolls as the repository or temporary resting place of spiritual presence."


"These dolls have been inspired by kokeshi dolls of Japan. While the commercial production of kokeshi is fairly recent, the form of the kokeshi doll is ancient. It is a very simple form, minimal and abstract. The consensus has always been though, the more abstract the doll, the more complex the emotion that attaches to them; and as everyone has experienced, the more self-conscious, precious and expensive the doll, the less fun they are to play with. The kokeshi doll, with its simplified curves and understated form, looks as if bound, wrapped or confined, emotions not altogether unfamiliar to those of one's human self." J. Brems

Also featured are the textiles of Kikuko Dewa, Onomik, and others. KOBO features the work of small studio craftsman from Japan, the Pacific Northwest and also represents other artists living in the U.S. who share a similar affinity with Japanese folk arts and aesthetics.
Kobo Gallery is located across Roy Street from the Harvard Exit at
814 East Roy Street,
Seattle WA 98102.
(206) 726-0704
Archives
Vroom Journal Art Radio Seattle Vroom Projects Art History Classes

Masthead
Resume

Channels
Photo Essays Panoramas (QTVR) Video Channel

Sponsors


 
Store