Nagamé

Koji Tanaka, Nagamé, 2013, African mahogany, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jeffrey Bernstein, M.D. and Judith Chernoff, M.D., 2021.66.39
Copied Koji Tanaka, Nagamé, 2013, African mahogany, 5 34 × 27 78 × 2 34 in. (14.6 × 70.8 × 7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jeffrey Bernstein, M.D. and Judith Chernoff, M.D., 2021.66.39

Artwork Details

Title
Nagamé
Artist
Date
2013
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
5 34 × 27 78 × 2 34 in. (14.6 × 70.8 × 7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Jeffrey Bernstein, M.D. and Judith Chernoff, M.D.
Mediums
Mediums Description
African mahogany
Classifications
Keywords
  • Abstract
Object Number
2021.66.39

Artwork Description

Koji Tanaka’s sculptures are portals to different ways of seeing. The artist grew up in a traditional Japanese home, where he observed his mother’s calligraphy work and commitment to practice over perfection. Along these lines, he lets a single piece of wood dictate the forms. “I hold the wood in reverence and honor its life by presenting it in the different forms I create, knowing that it's not perfect.”


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022