ギャラリーエークワッドが主催する第90回目の企画は、数多くの木製家具を生み出してこられた、建築家の中村好文氏と3名の家具職人、横山浩司・奥田忠彦・金澤知之氏とのコラボレーション展です。竹中大工道具館の巡回展という位置づけですが、展示スペースは会場に合わせて新たにデザインしていただきました。
ところで、歴史的にみると「椅子」は身分を象徴したり、時代や思想を反映したり、機能・性能に加えて様々な意味が託されてきました。先日上野で遭遇した椅子は、ゴッホとゴーギャンが其々互いの「面影を宿す」モチーフとして描いた木製の肘掛け付きの椅子です。ゴッホはゴーギャンをアルルの「黄色い家」に迎えるに当たり、肘掛け付きの椅子を用意し、自分は肘掛けのない、骨太の簡素な藁座面の椅子を使用したそうです。後年ゴーギャンはゴッホを偲び、ヒマワリの花を抱くように座面に載せた肘掛け付きの椅子を描いています。ゴッホを語る上でヒマワリは重要なモチーフですが、椅子もまた共同生活を送った二人の画家にとって、パレット同様、主の面影が重なった特別な存在として映っていたのだと思います。
中村氏の椅子からはデザイナーの姿が重なって見えてきます。合理性、機能性、実用性に加え、そこに「好文好み」の造形感覚が色濃く見て取れるからです。人の気持ちに寄り添うようにデザインされ、製作されたこれらの家具について、中村氏は、どこまでが自分の仕事で、どこからが家具職人の仕事なのか、線引きがはっきりしない、と言われるのですから、正に一人格のモノづくりを実践されているのだと思います。会場に置かれた本物を見て、映像を通して是非これを感じ取ってみて下さい。
最後に、本展の開催にあたり特別協力いただいたレミングハウスの関係者の皆様に感謝の意を表します。
The 90th Exhibition organized by Gallery A4 is a collaborative exhibition of an architect and three furniture craftsmen, Mr. Yoshifumi NAKAMURA, Mr. Koji YOKOYAMA, Mr. Tadahiko OKUDA and Mr. Tomoyuki KANAZAWA who have produced lots of wooden furniture. The exhibition is positioned as Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum travelling exhibition. Exhibitionspace is newly designed for Gallery A4.
Traditionally, chairs have symbolized status of the users and reflected the time and ideology adding various meanings to functions and performances. The chairs I encountered in Ueno the other day were wooden chairs with armrest, which both Gogh and Gauguin painted as a motif reflecting the images of each other. In welcoming Gauguin to his “la maison et son entourage”, Gogh prepared a chair with armrest for Gauguin, while he himself used a simple stout chair of straw seat without armrest. In later years, Gauguin painted a chair with armrest with sunflowers on the seat, remembering Gogh. Sunflower is an important motif for Gogh, but the chair was also a special item like a palette for the artists living together with the image of the owner.
The chairs designed by Mr. Nakamura overlapped with his own image. They clearly exhibit his sense of formative arts which is considered as “Nakamura Koubun-gonomi”, the things favored and valued by a knowledgeable expert master, in addition to rationality, functionality and utility.
The furniture were designed and manufactured with compassion to the users and Mr. Nakamura says that he cannot distinguish designer’s work from craftsmen’s work. They are really the unified work of collaboration. Taking this opportunity, I strongly recommend you to see with your own eyes to mentally feel the furniture and enjoy the visual image associated with the exhibition.
Lastly but not in the least, I will express my deepest appreciation to those working for Lemminghouse for the special support they offered in organizing this exhibition.