NYAB Event - Gen Konno "BU TU ZO U"

Gen Konno "BU TU ZO U"

hpgrp gallery

This event has ended.

hpgrp gallery new york presents "BU TU ZO U" by Gen Konno.

Buddha statues used to be a part of ordinary life for Japanese people, who kept them in their homes as religious objects. As a result, many organizations and factories emerged to meet the demand for Buddha statues. As time passed, manufacturers innovated the old ways of making them. Today, the statues bear the marks of time that has passed, as well as the memories of hardships that have been endured. They are both comforting and familiar to a modern audience.

Due to the recent disasters in Japan, and the problems in the economy that resulted from them, Buddha statues have again become a popular item in contemporary Japanese society. People see them as a means to return to the ways of their ancestors, as well as to rethink their current situations.

This exhibition shows small hollow statues made in the parquet style popularized in the time of the Heian (794 〜 1185) and Kamakura Period (around 1185 〜 1333). They are covered in rusting Urushi (Japanese lacquer), a material that symbolizes the passage of time.