
U-tsu-wa
Lucie Rie, Jennifer Lee, Ernst Gamperl
21_21_Design Sight
Midtown Garden, Tokyo Midtown,
9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
13 February – 10 May 2009





Directed by:Issey Miyake
Exhibition design:Tadao Ando
Visual direction:Kohei Sugiura
This exhibition was the three-person exhibition showcasing ceramic artists Lucie Rie and Jennifer Lee, and woodturning artist Ernst Gamperl.
Lucie Rie greatly influenced the mode of contemporary ceramics with her bold techniques and forms of expression within a simple design. Jennifer Lee’s pots present a quiet abstract exploration of space – her works often evoke a deep sense of nature for the viewer. Ernst Gamperl uses woodturning to channel the life from fallen trees and driftwood into his creations. Through the work of three artists that also hint to the origin of creation, the exhibition will take the audience for a tour of the world of creation that enrich our lives and culture.
Tadao Ando:
“The possibility of design as a lifestyle culture is profoundly reflected in the utsuwa ( “vessels, emptiness, universe”) created by these three artists…..
For this exhibition, I thought of ways to make the space work to communicate even more directly the fresh sensitivity of the three artists.
I created a basin in the exhibition room and installed pieces afloat on the water within. The exhibition is configured so that the viewer can stand face to face with beautiful vessels, mediated by the canvas of flowing water, on the brink between stasis and motion. Our hope is that the exhibition will make it possible for visitors to – through the works on display – feel the minds of their creators.”