“Masaaki Noda The Arc of My Life in Art: 50 Years — From New York to the World”
September 17, 2022 to December 18, 2022
Nariwa Museum, Takahashi
Museum Design: Tadao Ando
TAKAHASHI CITY, OKAYAMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN. – The Takahashi City Nariwa Museum of Art is presenting “Masaaki Noda The Arc of My Life in Art: 50 Years From New York to the World”, September 17- December 18, 2022, a retrospective of the work of the artist Masaaki Noda, from his native Japan to New York City highlighting his painting and sculpture.
Born in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Prefecture in 1949, Masaaki Noda received his early training in art in Japan, and in 1977 moved to New York City to attend The Art Students League. Noda has continued his relationship to Japan, spending part of his time every year in Japan after nine years. Initially, Noda focused on silk screens and paintings and in the 90’s has moved as well into sculpture.
His sculptures are found internationally with many monumental works in stainless steel, which he prefers for outdoor sculptures. His outdoor sculptures are found not only in Japan, but in China, Mongolia, Delphi, Athens, Marathon and Lefkada, Greece and the United States.
His stainless steel sculptures are known for their interaction with the changing environment of sun, rain, snow, clouds, vegetation with the sculptures becoming part of the surroundings. Each season and each change of weather provide a new experiences.
The Nariwa Museum of Art collection is primarily devoted to Japanese Impressionism and the work of Torajiro Kojima. Kojima was a contemporary of the great Yumeji and represents what many consider the belle époque of art internationally.
In 1994, the Museum opened a new building designed by Tadao Ando, a internationally known and prolific architect architect. His museum designs include the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Himeji City Museum of Literature, Akita Museum of Art, Chikatsu Asuka Museum, the Suntory Museum, The Hansol Museum (S. Korea), and many others.
Tadao Ando’s body of work is known for the creative use of natural light and for structures that follow natural forms of the landscape, rather than disturbing the landscape by making it conform to the constructed space of a building. Ando’s buildings are often characterized by complex three-dimensional circulation paths. These paths weave in between interior and exterior spaces formed both inside large-scale geometric shapes and in the spaces between them. ” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadao_Ando
It is fitting that Noda’s show will take place at a museum designed by Tadao Andro, whose buildings involve the creative use of natural light and interaction with the environment and landscape. Noda’s sculptures are known for their interaction with the environment.
https://nariwa-museum.or.jp/
The exhibition features 24 works of Noda including nine sculptures, four of which were completed for this exhibit including a cast stainless steel work and a granite work. See https://masaakinoda.com/category/nariwa/.
People at Exhibition
With President Takuo Toda of Castem KKキャステムKKで
の鋳造ステンレ , fabricator of polished cast stainless steel sculptures.
Bon Koizumi: Director of Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum “Soliloquy of Director”
松江市 小泉八雲記念館 小泉凡館長の「館長のひとりごと」です.
“Masaaki Noda Exhibition” at Nariwa Museum of Art
I went to Takahashi City’s Nariwa Art Museum’s special exhibition “Masaaki Noda: The Arc of My Life – 50 Years – From New York to the World” (held until December 18th) and with my wife Shoko had a pleasant discussion with Mr. Noda.
This museum was established to honor the achievements of Torajiro Kojima, a painter born in Nariwa. The museum is a unique concrete architecture by Tadao Ando.
Fukuyama-born Masaaki Noda has been based in New York since 1977, and has been active mainly in printmaking and sculpture. We’ve known each other for a quarter of a century since we first met in Matsumoto in 1996.
Noda participated in “The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn” and installed monuments with the same name in Athens, Lefkada, and Matsue.
A model of this sculpture is included in the Nariwa show.
The monument standing next to the Matsue Prefectural Art Museum offers a view of the setting sun over Lake Shinji in its heart-shaped space.
Noda himself recalled that the sculpture was “a notable event in my life as an artist and in my art career.”
The Open Mind project has gone beyond simply honoring the artist Hearn, but has become a major touchstone for advancing Noda to the next stage as an artist.
The compatibility between the spaces of Ando’s architecture and Mr. Noda’s sculptures, as a result, brings out the best of both worlds.
In particular, Noda’s outdoor work, which is set against the background of a cubic concrete pond inhabited by greenery and killifish, maintains dignity and completely blends into the space enhancing Ando’s architecture as well as Noda’s sculptures.
成羽美術館「野田正明展」
高梁市成羽美術館の企画展「野田正明 50年の軌跡―ニューヨークから世界へ―」（開催期間は12月18日まで）に出かけ、野田さんと歓談しました。
この美術館は 成羽町が生んだ画家・児島虎次郎の事績の顕彰を目的として誕生した美術館で、現在の建物は1994年に完成した3代目。安藤忠雄氏によるユニークなコンクリート建築です。
福山生まれの野田正明さんは、1977年以降、ニューヨークを拠点に版画や彫刻を中心に創作活動を続けておられます。
1996年の来松時にお会いして以来、四半世紀のお付き合いです。
The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearnプロジェクト」に参画され、同名のモニュメントをアテネ、レフカダ、松江などに設置。松江の県立美術館横にたつモニュメントは、そのハート形空間の中に宍道湖の落日を仰ぐこともできます。
それは、「私の作家人生、アートキャリアの中でも特筆すべき出来事」と、ご自身も述懐。このプロジェクトは、単に作家ハーンの顕彰という次元を超えて、次の段階へ進む大きな試金石となりました さて、安藤建築の空間と野田さんの彫刻の相性の良さ、その結果、両者の魅力が最大限に引き出されています。とくに山の緑とメダカが棲むキュービックなコンクリート池を背景にした屋外の野田作品は、威厳を保ちつつも完全にその空間に溶け込んでいるのです。
そこに立っていると、「野田先生！」と声をかける老紳士が。児島虎次郎のご子孫でこの美術館の理事長さんでした。新しい出会いもあり、豊かなくつろいだひとときを過ごせたことに感謝です。