展覧会によせて

篠田桃紅氏の一日は、毎朝 横 65 センチほどの大きな硯に新しい水を注ぎ、香りたつ墨を磨ることから始まります。墨を磨るとい う行為は、単調な繰り返しに過ぎませんが、一種言いようのない官能が磨墨を通じて手から身に伝わると言います。

墨のくろ、それは「玄」であり、老子によれば、玄とは人生と宇宙の根源であり、真であり、本質、実在であり、余計なものはなく、 無為のもの。それは真っ黒の一歩手前の色、明るさのある黒で、心を騒がせない、沈静であって死ではない、動きを残す色という 深い意味が込められているそうですが、そこに到達するには、限りなく難しいと篠田氏は言います。

篠田氏は、幼少の頃より書に親しみ、戦後まもなく単身で渡米、日本古来の書に根ざした独自の墨による「かたち」を創造し、欧 米で高い評価を受けました。甲骨文字に端を発した漢字は、記号であると同時に直感的に意味や情景を想起させます。その本質を 求めて制作を重ねるなかで、次第に篠田氏の表現は文字という形態を離れて、やがて余計なものをそぎ落としながら深い含みを持っ た現在の墨象へと向かっていきました。

篠田氏がキャンバスとして用いた和紙。墨による美しく鋭いモノトーンな面と線の構成。金箔、銀箔を使いながらも派手さのない 上品なマチエール。森羅万象、あらゆるものに命が宿っていると囁くかのようなやさしさと相反する厳しさ、大胆さ。幽玄 ( 有限 ) の中に無限の美をみる、といった考えは、欧米人にとってすべてが新鮮にうつったことでしょう。「秘すれば花なり」と名言を残し た世阿弥の言葉を借りれば、目にみえるものがすべてではなく、みえないものの中にこそ、ものの本質があると言うことでしょう。

篠田氏は増上寺の壁画や襖絵、国立京都国際会館のレリーフの制作など大作を手掛けてきました。現役最年長と呼ばれるようになっ てからも、最新作がメトロポリタン美術館やボストン美術館に収蔵されるなど、欧米で認められた日本人女流芸術家の嚆矢として、 立ち止まることなく走り続けて来られました。

本展覧会は、ギャラリーオープン当初から篠田桃紅の作品を収集下さったコレクターの皆様に協力を仰ぎ実現しました。本展のた めに快くご出品下さったコレクターの皆様に心より御礼申し上げます。そして本展を主催下さった岡山天満屋、そして本展覧会に 熱意を持って関わって下さったスタッフの皆様に深く感謝の言葉を捧げます。最後に、二十代からアトリエに通い、未熟な私にあ らゆるかたちで学びの場を提供下さった篠田桃紅氏に言葉にできないほどの感謝の気持ちを捧げます。

ギャラリーサンカイビ
平田美智子

On the Occasion of the Exhibition

Toko Shinoda begins her day every morning by pouring fresh water into a large inkstone, measuring around 65 centimeters wide, and grinding fragrant ink. Although grinding ink is a monotonous, repetitive process, Shinoda says that it gives her a sensual pleasure of a sort she cannot describe, which travels through the ink to her hand, and into her body.

The Japanese word for the ink’ s black color can be written as “玄” (gen). This is the same character that constitutes in Laozi’ s philosophy the fountainhead of life and the universe, the truth, the essence, existence ‒ that which is devoid of all intent and superfluity. It is a color that is just short of pitch black: a black with a brightness to it. According to Shinoda, it has the profound meanings of a color that does not perturb the mind, that is tranquility yet is not death, that leaves a sense of motion. But Shinoda says that this color is impossibly difficult to attain.

Toko Shinoda took to calligraphy as a child, and later, after the war, moved on her own to the United States. With her ink, she created unique forms that had their roots in ancient Japanese calligraphy, winning acclaim in the West. The Japanese kanji script, whose history can be traced to oracular inscriptions on bone and tortoise shells, are not mere symbols; they also evoke scenes and give off an intuitive sense of their meanings. Her persistent quest for the essence of these characters gradually led Shinoda to leave behind the written character, shedding all superfluous elements until she finally arrived at the deeply evocative style of bokusho (avant-garde calligraphy) for which she is known today.

The washi paper that Shinoda used as her canvas; her compositions of ink-drawn planes and lines in beautiful, sharp monotone; the elegant matière that, despite its use of gold and silver foil, has no gaudiness about it. A tenderness that seems to whisper to us that everything in the universe has life, and an antithetical austerity and boldness. The notion of seeing infinite beauty within the abstruse, within the finite. All these things must have come across as fresh to those in the West. To borrow Zeami’ s maxim: “If it is hidden, it is the Flower.” That which we can see is not everything; the true nature of things lies within them, hidden from sight.

To date, Shinoda has produced many large-scale masterpieces, from the murals and drawings on fusuma (sliding partitions) in the Zojoji temple, to the reliefs at the Kyoto International Conference Center. Even after becoming known as the oldest practicing artist, she has had new works acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. As the first female Japanese artist to be recognized in the West, she has pursued her practice without stopping, all the way to the present day.

This exhibition was made possible by the cooperation of all those collectors of Shinoda’ s works who have kindly lent us their help since the gallery’ s opening. We would like to express our deep gratitude to all the collectors for their generous loans of works for this exhibition, to Okayama Tenmaya for hosting the exhibition, and to all the staff for their committed involvement. Finally, I would like to extend my utmost thanks to Toko Shinoda, who has welcomed me into her atelier since my twenties, and has offered all manner of learning opportunities to a fledgling like me. Words cannot sufficiently express my gratitude.

Michiko Hirata

Gallery SanKaiBi

篠 田 桃 紅 展—百人一首を中心に

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