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Photograph courtesy of Iwasawa Oriental Arts
This flower cabinet by Seth Janofsky is one of the featured items at the new exhibit at the Iwasawa Oriental Arts Gallery.
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Japan and California meet in new exhibit
Form and function
merge in show
By Shari Kaplan
For her last exhibition after 18 years of business, Kumiko Iwasawa Vadas has created a show of distinctive themed art from local artists at her Iwasawa Oriental Arts Gallery, 75 University Ave. in Los Gatos.
Titled "Yo-No-Bi:" Form and Function--A California Collage, the exhibit features wood furniture by Seth Janofsky and sculptures by Paul Wilson, former Los Gatans living in Fort Bragg and Carmel, respectively; ceramic and bronze sculptures by Linda Hansen Mau and ceramic vessels by Michiko Shimoda, both Saratogans; and ceramic sculpture by Mahoko Dahte of Cupertino.
"I wanted my last exhibition to be an exhibit of local artists. This is my way of paying tribute to the community," Vadas says. Although she will still maintain her gallery, which houses an impressive collection of Asian artifacts and artwork, she will not have any new exhibits. Within a year or so, she plans to move her business to a smaller office facility to be built on what is now a patio behind her gallery. She then expects to rent out the front of the property.
For "Yo-No-Bi," Vadas took the theme of form and functionality common in her native Japan and gave it a California spin, since her artists are current Californians and so are many of her visitors.
"Form and function is a traditional Japanese idea. Everything should have more than one use, and everything should have function as well as be attractive. Simplicity is very important; Japan is a very small country so you need to save space," she explains.
An example is Janofsky's meticulously crafted wooden cabinetry and furniture, which make strong statements as attractive room centerpieces and can also be opened to provide roomy storage space.
"I am not a Japanese furniture maker, nor do I make 'Japanese' furniture. But people have remarked on a Japanese spirit in my work," Janofsky says.
"I, like many others, find the serenity of traditional Japanese design and architecture--and its insistence on the investing of simple objects of use with both beauty and human relevance--very appealing."
Wilson, a sculptor for more than 40 years, transforms his wood into curves rather than angles. Among his creatively named sculptures on display are Encounter, Serenity and Ménage à Trois. Wilson also made the redwood sculpture that the Los Gatos Arts Commission dedicated to the late George and Ruth Barati this summer in front of the Los Gatos Library.
Mau exhibits raku ceramic kimonos and bronze sculptures from her "Mathematics as Metaphor" collection, while Shimoda offers contemporary ceramic vessels in unusual shapes for flower arranging, an art called ikebana in Japanese. Dahte's contribution is colorful ceramic squares that bring abstracted scenes of the outdoors inside.
"Yo-No-Bi: Form and Function--A California Collage" runs from Oct. 14 through
Nov. 20. An artists' reception will take place 6-8 p.m. on Oct. 14. Regular gallery hours are Tues.-Sat., 11-5 p.m., and by appointment. For more information, call 408.395.2339.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
