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Etsuko Tashima "Hydrangea: Water Vessel"
Imura Art Gallery Kyoto
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Etsuko Tashima
Imura Art Gallery is pleased to present Hydrangea: Water Vessel, Etsuko Tashima’s first solo exhibition in thirteen years.
Etsuko Tashima made her debut in the 1980s as leading light among the “ultra girls,” a group of female artists whose work is characterized by powerful expression unconstrained by the conventional frameworks of art. Her works, comprising shapes symbolizing the female body in powerful primary colors, attracted a great deal of attention. Beginning in about 1988, organic, undulating forms that looked like plants began to appear in her work. At the same time, the bright and lustrous colors disappeared from her pieces, and she transitioned to creating works with a consciousness of texture, even including the shape of the air that exists around the pieces. Continuing down this path, from about 1992 Tashima’s works underwent a change, and she produced a series of white pieces covered only in white slip. The encoded forms seem to symbolize the spirituality hidden deep within the heart and evoke a tranquil worldview. Tashima soon arrived at a new form of expression using translucent glass made using a technique called mold casting, in which small pieces of glass are packed into plaster molds and then fired in a kiln. The glass formed in this way is fused to stoneware that has been formed using the tatara slab technique and then glazed and fired, giving the pieces a refined and supple energy.
This exhibition will present mainly new works fit for the season—from late spring into the monsoon period. Yellow-hued flowers occupy the center of the space, the inside of their petals full of water as they stretch out towards the abundance of life. The crazing that occurs due to varying shrinkage in the pottery and glass seems to engrave the passage of time on the surface of the work, as if whispering the age of the material. The freshness created by the transparency of the glass, together with the soft, bright yellow of the stoneware, makes the expression graceful yet full of powerful vitality.
As you listen to Tashima's quiet dialogue with her materials, we hope that you will enjoy the ebullient field of flowers that are unpretentious yet gorgeous.
Etsuko Tashima made her debut in the 1980s as leading light among the “ultra girls,” a group of female artists whose work is characterized by powerful expression unconstrained by the conventional frameworks of art. Her works, comprising shapes symbolizing the female body in powerful primary colors, attracted a great deal of attention. Beginning in about 1988, organic, undulating forms that looked like plants began to appear in her work. At the same time, the bright and lustrous colors disappeared from her pieces, and she transitioned to creating works with a consciousness of texture, even including the shape of the air that exists around the pieces. Continuing down this path, from about 1992 Tashima’s works underwent a change, and she produced a series of white pieces covered only in white slip. The encoded forms seem to symbolize the spirituality hidden deep within the heart and evoke a tranquil worldview. Tashima soon arrived at a new form of expression using translucent glass made using a technique called mold casting, in which small pieces of glass are packed into plaster molds and then fired in a kiln. The glass formed in this way is fused to stoneware that has been formed using the tatara slab technique and then glazed and fired, giving the pieces a refined and supple energy.
This exhibition will present mainly new works fit for the season—from late spring into the monsoon period. Yellow-hued flowers occupy the center of the space, the inside of their petals full of water as they stretch out towards the abundance of life. The crazing that occurs due to varying shrinkage in the pottery and glass seems to engrave the passage of time on the surface of the work, as if whispering the age of the material. The freshness created by the transparency of the glass, together with the soft, bright yellow of the stoneware, makes the expression graceful yet full of powerful vitality.
As you listen to Tashima's quiet dialogue with her materials, we hope that you will enjoy the ebullient field of flowers that are unpretentious yet gorgeous.
Schedule | May 17 (Sat) 2025-Jun 7 (Sat) 2025 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://www.imuraart.com/exhibition/2025/05/hydrangea.html | ||||
| Venue | Imura Art Gallery Kyoto https://www.imuraart.com/ | ||||
| Location | 31 Higashi Maruta-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 606-8395 | ||||
| Access | 3 minute walk from exit 4 at Jingu Marutamachi Station on the Keihan line. | ||||
| Phone | 075-761-7372 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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