Ceramics on a global stage: conveying sculptures as an international language
Over thousands of years, the art of ceramics has been seen all over the world and is crafted in different ways across cultures. The creation of ceramic art is a way to express oneself in a tangible form.
For Japanese ceramic artist En Iwamura, he is sculpting unique, colorful, personified ceramic art based on where he came from, resulting in an exploration of cultural diversity, perception of surroundings, and philosophy. By combining influences from his upbringing such as comics and other facets of pop culture as well as referencing historical Japanese ceramics including Jomon pots and Haniwa figures, etc. and even using primitive sculpting techniques, he refers to his work as future-artifacts that are meant to communicate with people as time goes on and as we continue to evolve from ancient, unknown artifacts discovered throughout past history.
More specifically, through the mission of Iwamura’s work, he aims to continuously portray ceramics as a way to communicate cross-culturally, ultimately striving to convey his art form as an international language. In the underlying themes embedded in his sculptures, he is simultaneously considering the past, present, and future.
En Iwamura’s sculptures of various colors, shapes, and sizes (via @eniwamura Instagram page)
I got to interview En and discuss his exposure to different cultures, the work involved in creating his ceramics, the philosophy that drives his artistic vision, and the way his audience interacts with the ceramics he is creating and showcasing.
With your handful of artistic residencies, you have had the opportunity to live and work on your art in different countries. In regard to longer-term living, you lived in the USA for five years and integrated yourself into a culture so new to you at the time. How did spending half a decade in the USA change who you are as a person and influence you as an artist?
It was a totally different experience. In Japan, It was normal to be surrounded almost by a single culture. Japan is an island country, the people speak one language, and most people I met when I was a child were born in Japan. In the USA, people speak different languages, come from many different cultural backgrounds. People are different races and have different skin colors, but live together. After living in the USA, I started to get a feeling that the world is smaller than I myself and others may think.
One of the main sentiments in your work is that you’re always striving to convey ceramics as an international language because ceramics exist across many cultures in different styles. Out of your residencies in the USA, China, Japan, and France, how have your combined cultural experiences helped to further inform the way in which you express your work to communicate through international audiences?
For me, cultural diversity is a very important topic to think of. As I mentioned, with growing up in Japan, it was hard to imagine about different cultures existing in one place because I wasn’t familiar with that concept. After traveling and living in different parts of the world, I could witness how people were spending their days and nights in the streets, restaurants, at parks, stations, or schools, etc.
I think my work is like a future artifact that indicates a mixture and variety of different cultural icons that I like or that I saw over time. And in the future, people will see my work as a real artifact. I want to imagine how future people can read my work at whatever the given time period is.
As a part of Iwamura’s work, he has said that the process of making different line patterns on the surface of his sculptures is like a form of meditation and that this process allows him to discover new techniques and shapes, almost as if he is encountering aspects of his art that he does not yet know about (via @eniwamura Instagram page)
You used to run track and field, and to this day, you maintain a good physical condition. This is because in your creations, you need to utilize both physical strength and agility. Furthermore, when making large-scale pieces, including drawings, you’re constantly mindful about which muscles you need to use to balance and stretch in various ways to accomplish certain creations. Combining all of these movements and also sculpting with your hands, why it is important to you to have such a tangible, physically direct connection with the art you create?
Clay is a natural and wild material. With my physical actions, clay can react and form a shape freely. For me, the ceramic making process is like a three-dimensional way of doodling. I need this control over my body that makes me work free, lively, and in the open air.
En Iwamura’s sculptures vary in all kinds of shapes and sizes (via @eniwamura Instagram page)
Although you feel that residencies and meeting new people are always inspiring, you have also stated that you need privacy and that you need a balance between being social and being by yourself. How do you find that ideal balance for you and how does maintaining that said balance help to keep your development as an artist moving forward in a positive trajectory?
It is difficult, as I don’t think I have found any ideal balance yet. Also, after having my own family, it is getting even harder to figure out that balance. My perception always shifts, and I try to follow the flow. It is never comfortable and steady.
Another underlying theme in your work is based on the Japanese philosophy of Ma, which is focused on the concept of space between people, places, and things. It is a philosophical practice to observe pauses in time and connect with all surroundings, even empty spaces and space between people and objects, etc. When was it that you discovered/experienced Ma and in what ways did/does this philosophy resonate with you?
When I was a student, I had to do an internship as part of a school assignment. I asked my father (who is also an artist) if he knew any artists making sizably big work.
On another note, he responded by asking me how I thought about Japanese gardens, and he continued by saying “I don’t know what your definition of “big” is, but gardening is an example of something with a large scale of work…” By using the concept of gardening as a comparison to different forms of artwork, I was shocked and very drowned by his words.
After thinking as a “gardener” for only a few weeks, my idea of space and scale had changed. I was not only thinking of the size of things but scale too. After that experience, I started to see the space in things more.
Putting Ma into practice (via @eniwamura Instagram page)
Often, En draws/paints figures to get a physical reference of what he ultimately wants to sculpt.
One of the goals with your new art studio you’re working in is that you want it to be as clean and as quiet as possible. How does being in this kind of serene, orderly environment help you embody the philosophy of Ma while you’re in the process of drawing and sculpting?
Simply, space makes me want to come to my studio. It makes me want to imagine about the art I am drawing/sculpting. If you have a blank white paper, you might be able to start drawing easily. With paper with stains, for example, your creative activity could be limited. For me, space is a canvas. I want to draw lines starting with a blank space. I want to see my lines without noise, so to speak.
Working in the studio (via @eniwamura Instagram page)
From what you have showcased in your site-responsive installations, what have you learned about how people view and interact with your art?
What I learned was that people interpret and enjoy the work as they want, no matter how I think of the work or how anyone else thinks of it. That is good, and I hope my audience can read my work as they want. I would like to make my work and space neutral, and I hope people can put their own thoughts in to my work.
(via @eniwamura Instagram page)
What ways are you continuously challenging yourself to make Ma a part of your artistic vision?
Rather than finding ways to challenge myself, I feel that I am just enjoying the process.
In January 2022, your dream came true, which was having a solo exhibition in New York, USA. Now, you’ve established new dreams to focus on. You shared that in the future, you want to support a younger generation of artists by helping them with their art and guiding them to they can utilize you as a “stepping stone” to grow and ultimately make great artistic accomplishments. What specific ways do you envision this dream coming into fruition?
I have some ideas, but none of them are concrete yet. I want to share the ideas in the moment when they are actively happening. I am looking forward to sharing my ideas with you guys in the near future.
En Iwamura’s first solo exhibition at Ross + Kramer Gallery in New York City, USA (via @eniwamura Instagram page)