Sax Stonecarving - Kazutaka Uchida

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BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY
1948 Born in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture.
1972 Graduated from Tama University of Fine Arts, Tokyo.
1975 Attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris.
1982 Commissioned to conduct research on art handcrafts in local village in Nepal.
1991 Commissioned by the government of the People's Republic of China to conduct
research on the culture of small minority group in China.
1993 Served as visiting artist, University of Oregon (Japan Foundation Fellowship).
1994 Appointed courtesy professor by the Department of Fine and Applied Arts,
University of Oregon.
Panelist at the 15th International Sculpture Conference in San Francisco.

The Universal Language of Kazutaka Uchida
It is rare to meet an artist whose work is, at once, profoundly rooted in his or her own culture, but can also resonate with absolute clarity to those of us living across the ocean in another. One senses this possibility in the art of Kazutaka Uchida. His chosen medium, the elemental shapes he forms, their scale, and their overall effect form a universal language with a particulary evocative Japanese accent.
There is a fundamental aesthetic to Uchida's work that finds resonance in his Japanese heritage -- clean lines, subtle beauty, harmonious relationship, bold transformations, and respect and patience for his chosen medium of stone. And what strength and permanence! Whether individual works of art or installations, Uchida's sculptures often stand like the Japanese archipelago itself. The titles of his works give evidence of this interest -- "The Ocean and the Sun" or "Roundness of the Horizon." Their spiritual and physical relationship to Zen monastic gardens is evident.
His sculptural forms also manifest something more than cultural respect and continuity. In Uchida's works there is another level of the microcosmic that predates humanity. Again, the titles he gives his sculptures suggest this possibility. Like a subscript, their names often end with the words, "-- the Fossil," giving them a prehistoric reference. His sculptures' polished forms frequently seem embedded in rough stone, having simply been released by Uchida, the geologist.
That Uchida studied sculpture in the same Italian marble quarries where Michelangelo selected his stone offers insight into thier shared attitude that the artist simply reveals that which is embedded in nature. Whereas Michelangelo found this truth by sculpting stone to reveal the human soul, Uchida, as a man of his own age, manifests the same belief through an expressive manipulation on stone to reveal a universal abstraction. In doing this, he has found a timeless language that enriches our view of the world and enlivens age-old cultural beliefs.

Dr. David Robertson- Associate Director of the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago

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We hope you will join us this August
in beautiful northern New Mexico
for an unforgettable carving experience.

A limited number of work-scholarships are available.
Please Contact Us for more information.




			CLICK IMAGES FOR ENLARGEMENTS BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY 1948 Born in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture. 1972 Graduated from Tama University of Fine Arts, Tokyo. 1975 Attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. 1982 Commissioned to conduct research on art handcrafts in local village in Nepal. 1991 Commissioned by the government of the People's Republic of China to conduct research on the culture of small minority group in China. 1993 Served as visiting artist, University of Oregon (Japan Foundation Fellowship). 1994 Appointed courtesy professor by the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Oregon. Panelist at the 15th International Sculpture Conference in San Francisco. The Universal Language of Kazutaka Uchida It is rare to meet an artist whose work is, at once, profoundly rooted in his or her own culture, but can also resonate with absolute clarity to those of us living across the ocean in another. One senses this possibility in the art of Kazutaka Uchida. His chosen medium, the elemental shapes he forms, their scale, and their overall effect form a universal language with a particulary evocative Japanese accent. There is a fundamental aesthetic to Uchida's work that finds resonance in his Japanese heritage -- clean lines, subtle beauty, harmonious relationship, bold transformations, and respect and patience for his chosen medium of stone. And what strength and permanence! Whether individual works of art or installations, Uchida's sculptures often stand like the Japanese archipelago itself. The titles of his works give evidence of this interest -- "The Ocean and the Sun" or "Roundness of the Horizon." Their spiritual and physical relationship to Zen monastic gardens is evident. His sculptural forms also manifest something more than cultural respect and continuity. In Uchida's works there is another level of the microcosmic that predates humanity. Again, the titles he gives his sculptures suggest this possibility. Like a subscript, their names often end with the words, "-- the Fossil," giving them a prehistoric reference. His sculptures' polished forms frequently seem embedded in rough stone, having simply been released by Uchida, the geologist. That Uchida studied sculpture in the same Italian marble quarries where Michelangelo selected his stone offers insight into thier shared attitude that the artist simply reveals that which is embedded in nature. Whereas Michelangelo found this truth by sculpting stone to reveal the human soul, Uchida, as a man of his own age, manifests the same belief through an expressive manipulation on stone to reveal a universal abstraction. In doing this, he has found a timeless language that enriches our view of the world and enlivens age-old cultural beliefs. Dr. David Robertson- Associate Director of the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago BACK We hope you will join us this August in beautiful northern New Mexico for an unforgettable carving experience. A limited number of work-scholarships are available. Please Contact Us for more information.