Tea Bowl Universe

Artist Nana Shiomi (born 1956 in Japan; active in London)

Date2016

MediumWoodcut print Edition 5/30

DimensionsImage: 11 11/16 × 11 5/8 inches (29.7 × 29.5 cm);
Sheet: 15 7/8 × 16 inches (40.3 × 40.6 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineGift of Younghee Kim-Wait, in honor of Cathy Rosa Klimaszewski

Terms

Prints
Japanese

Object number2021.022.002

Label CopyIn this series, tea bowls of various designs float on top of a wooden floor. The background is filled with looming dark red, which darkens even more toward the edge. Nana Shiomi is a contemporary Japanese printmaker who is based in the United Kingdom. A floor with lines receding into the background is a characteristic of her work. Shiomi expressed that the receding floor represents the Western world, since the technique of perspective is a key element in Western art. By placing a Japanese item, such as a tea bowl, above the floor, it signifies the complexities in balancing the Japanese and Western worlds. She explained that a tea bowl is a small object, but when looking inside a bowl of tea it’s like looking into a different world.

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