齋藤美洲作品販売ページ
SAITO Bishū Works on Sale

現代根付運動の先駆者　

Pioneer of the Contemporary Netsuke Movement

S字曲線に見る造形の定理

The Theorem of Form as Seen in the S-Curve

西洋と東洋、彫刻と工芸、抽象と具象の融合

The fusion of Western and Eastern, sculpture and craft, abstraction and figuration
 
美洲は1970 年代に始まった、新しい芸術的な根付を創りだそうとする「現代根付運動」の中で、中心のひとりとして斬新な現代根付作品を発表してきた作家です。
BISHŪ is an artist who emerged as a central figure in the “Contemporary Netsuke Movement,” which began in the 1970s with the aim of creating new artistic netsuke, presenting innovative contemporary netsuke works.


東京の下町で江戸時代から続く象牙彫刻の家に生まれ、家業の四代目として職人の世界を間近にしながら、同時に上野の西洋美術館や東京国立博物館などで美術工芸に親しんで育ちました。
この環境が作家独自の制作の源となっています。
He was born into a family of ivory carvers in Tokyo's downtown area, a tradition dating back to the Edo period. As the fourth-generation successor to the family business, he grew up immersed in the world of craftsmanship while also developing an appreciation for art and crafts at places like the Western Art Museum in Ueno and the Tokyo National Museum.
This environment became the source of his unique artistic practice.

現代根付というジャンルが生まれた直後には、西洋美術の抽象的なフォルムと根付彫刻の間にある類似性を表現として取り入れた根付作品を発表してアメリカのコレクターを中心に高い評価を得ました。
Shortly after the genre of contemporary netsuke emerged, works incorporating the similarities between abstract forms in Western art and netsuke sculpture as an artistic expression were presented, earning high acclaim primarily among American collectors.

その後も、彫刻的な表現と工芸的（根付としての）表現について一貫して問い続け、非常に個性の強い独自の理論に基づいた根付の造形表現にたどり着きました。
He continued to consistently explore sculptural expression and craft-based expression (as netsuke) thereafter, ultimately arriving at a uniquely expressive form of netsuke based on his own highly individual theory.

その造形が目指しているものは、手のひらに納めるほどの小さなサイズの根付彫刻が、大きな彫刻作品に負けない彫刻的な魅力（動きや量感や存在感、美しいバランスなど）を持ち得る表現にたどり着くことでした。
The goal of this sculptural form was to achieve an expression where a netsuke carving small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand could possess sculptural appeal—such as movement, volume, presence, and beautiful balance—that rivals that of large-scale sculptures.

美洲の作品の特徴である大きく捻じれた形や片自足だけでバランス良く自立する造形などにはそのような理由があります。
The characteristic features of BISHŪ's work—such as its large, twisted forms and sculptures that stand balanced on a single leg—have such reasons.