'Silences are precious times to be shared, not empty spaces to be filled with words.'
Shizuka (Silence) is Kazuhito Takadoi's first solo exhibition with jaggedart. Kazuhito's exquisite works are full of dichotomies: His work is both minimal, yet opulent. It is simultaneously fragile yet has strength, and it combines the formality of Eastern discipline with abstraction from Western art. The beauty of each work lies not only in his selection and use of natural materials, but in his exceptionally elegant presentation.
Inspired by the rich woodland surrounding his birthplace of Nagoya, Japan, Kazuhito grows and hand picks grasses, leaves and twigs from his garden, sowing each blade through the paper while the grass is moist and flexible. As the grasses dry and mature they embark on a subtle colour shift, comparative to seasonal change. Geometric in form, they are organic in substance.
Apparently abstract, each piece has a story behind it. Kazuhito weaves teal hued grasses between copperleaf crosses in Asagoa (Morning Glory). Kazuhito's trademark grass circles represent the flowers of Asagoa. The interwoven copper structure will transform over time to mimic the effect of a slowly rusting metal fence. In Amatsubu I, II, III and IV (Raindrops) he charts the progress of raindrops as they slowly run down a glass, merging and changing shape as they progress. Kazuhito ties grasses together so that the knots accumulate to colour each rounded form. Tsunagu (Chain) is representative of the cycle of life; a chain of events that can never be broken. The many circles of weathered cadmium grasses overlap and hover above the gold leaf applied to the paper. In Nami (Wave) a gentle ripple slowly makes its way over the surface, breaking up the reflection of a dramatic red sunset. The visual result is a subtle interplay between the grasses and their shadows. Kazuhito describes his fascination with shadows, "from the deepest black in midsummer to pale silver grey in the weak winter sun. I take joy in the slow decay when everything eventually returns to the earth, only to be re-born."
In Daen, a large annular woven willow sculpture, at each of the many crossings, the willow strands are tied with a cotton string. Kazuhito unites seemingly opposing materials and the combination of the light cotton against the dark wood is visually dazzling. The form is hollow and again we see a work that has great presence and an architectural scale, but utter lightness of being.
Kazuhito trained in Agriculture and Horticulture in Japan the US and in the UK, before studying Art and Garden Design. Having studied at the Hokkaido Agricultural and Horticultural School at Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, The Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley, England, Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, America, and Leeds Metropolitan University, Kazuhito has a thorough academic understanding of his materials and uses this to produce works of unrestrained beauty.
With a strong understanding of colour and space Kazuhito's work is pure. Each piece possesses a living quality as the grass drawings appear to grow out of the paper through which they are woven. Through these almost sculptural pieces, Kazuhito brings the outside garden into the living space.
