Year: 2026
Medium: acrylic on wood(Japanese Pagoda Tree)
Dimensions: 34.5 x 17.5 x 17 cm (13 1/2 x 6 7/8 x 6 3/4 in.)
Acquired from t. gallery, 2026
A sculptor whose practice explores the boundaries that exist within various phenomena, Kineta Kunimatsu developed this work as part of the Glacier Mountain series, a group of carved wooden sculptures inspired by the ridgelines of icebergs. From the TOBIU Art Community, where Kunimatsu is based, expansive views of surrounding mountain ranges and horizons can be seen. Yet rather than directly reproducing specific landscapes, he carves forms that weave together impressions evoked by those scenes with imagined places and landscapes born from memory and fantasy.
Ridgelines and horizons are perceived from afar as simple “lines,” yet in reality they possess spatial depth, constantly changing according to viewpoint, weather, and time. Icebergs, too, continually grow and collapse over long spans of time, and their forms are never fixed. Ultimately, the sense of beauty perceived in such contours depends upon the sensibility of each individual viewer. Kunimatsu’s sculptures therefore do not merely define the outlines of things; instead, they ask us to consider what the boundaries appearing before us at a given moment are meant to separate, and how we ourselves perceive them.
In this work, the wood has been carved into a spire-like form and painted white to resemble a snow-covered mountain, before being boldly set on fire so that much of its surface became carbonized. The charred opening at the center of the piece evokes an unfathomable darkness and depth despite the work’s relatively small scale. It may resemble the dwelling place of an animal, or perhaps a deep cavern. Just as Kunimatsu draws freely upon natural scenery for sculptural inspiration, viewers too are invited to imagine their own landscapes within this mountain-like form and its dark hollow interior.
Kunimatsu identifies the species of wood used in each of his works, and this piece is made from Japanese pagoda tree (enju), a material that also bears a deep connection to this museum.
