Panta Rhei: Everything Flows: Works by Five Artists on Japanese Washi Paper

(b. 1950, Tokyo, based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan)

KAKU is an established career artist and designer whose iconic installation work has expanded the boundaries of traditional Japanese mediums for five decades. A subliminal sense of a shared consciousness guides KAKU’s technique and symbolism. Each work uses shaped wire and tens of thousands of coiled washi pieces; together, they become a living environment. Each fragment draws the viewer deeper into the undulating surface until the washi is totally enveloping. The tranquility in the absence of self echoes a Zen sensibility.

(b. 1973, Tokyo, based in Brooklyn, New York)

Yasue Maetake's latest bas-relief series investigates the effect of chemical reactions on washi. Maetake repurposes the industrial waste from her sculpture studio, creating Anthropogenic geographies from melded man-made materials. The reliefs become a naturalistic timeline, connecting the age-old washi medium with the products of the modern era. She embeds oxidized erosion, such as fermented plants, metal patina, and wood stains, between the bonds of the hand-made paper layers. The character of the material—an Animistic spirit—reveals itself, creating new chroma and life.