Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha, when sculpture meets ceramics

 Bulls serie, ceramics

Sculptor, ceramist and visual artist, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha is a Nepali artist who occupies an important place in the artistic milieu of his country. He creates, exhibits, animates workshops and participates in residences in Nepal and abroad since the 1980s. His production is a unique universe, inspired by tribal shapes that he revisits with very clean lines of great sophistication. Gopal Shrestha freely uses all that surrounds him: clay, plants, minerals, wax, metal, sand, sawdust, gold leaf and many other mediums to give us his own vision of the world through a syncretic prism. If one clearly distinguishes the influence of Nepalese tribal art, especially the Tharu ethnic group living in the south of the country, the themes he addresses are directly related to his country's most contemporary period and the difficulties that it crosses. His creations are divided into several series with contrasting aesthetic styles, such as the one devoted to the revolutionary period that shook Nepal from 1996 to 2006 or his latest series of tribal-inspired chess pieces Tharu. His work derives from his observation of the socio-cultural transformations of Nepal but also reflects the cultural syncretism characteristic of Nepali society. From the people's war to gender relations to the exile of Nepali youth seeking a better life abroad, many aspects of contemporary Nepalese society are being explored by Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha, who has an excellent perception of his society and exceptional sensitivity to grasp his surroundings.

Chess pieces serie, ceramics

Coming from a modest family, but from a caste where the work of the land is not an acceptable occupation, nothing will come to block his desire to become an artist ceramist and sculptor. He will hold various positions to finance his studies in an art school: "I had many jobs when I was young, I washed dishes in restaurants, did laundry  for hotels, I cooked , tinkered and finally I taught as soon as I could. All these experiences allowed me to finance my studies at the Fine Art Lalit Kala Campus in Kathmandu and to start my career as a sculptor in the 1980s. "He then began to read books on art, especially the ceramic. Afterwards, his travels abroad allowed him to observe ceramics from different traditions and to interact with ceramists. "I have always asked my ceramicist friends from outside Nepal to bring me something useful when they come here, they gave me books, gloves and other equipment that is valuable because these are things that can’ t be bought in Nepal. It is also difficult to get quality materials and produce them myself became a necessity because it was impossible to import the chemicals needed for my work. That is why I quickly began researching chemicals and what could be extracted from minerals, different clays and Nepalese flora. With these materials I created my own recipes for colors and unique texture effects ".

 Exhibition of ceramic rocks, Taragaon museum, Kathmandu

Cultural transfers and the multiplication of exchanges have continually drawn the art of Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha into a series of mutations that contribute to the impression of diversity that one experiences in front of his work. Indeed, the artist travels often, both within his country and abroad, and feeds on the aesthetics and new techniques he faces: "During my youth I traveled to Nepal, then I went abroad and especially in Europe, where for example I learned new techniques from ceramic artists in the south of France, but now since the rise of the internet, I have access to many information from home ". His home, located in Kathmandu, houses his workshop and part of his work. Looking like a museum, it also hosts a collection of contemporary art, but above all, it welcomes artists who come here to learn the techniques of ceramics, such as Gopal has transformed and adapted it, forging a hybrid technical knowledge that he teaches to stimulate interest in Nepalese ceramics, different from traditional Asian ceramics: "In India and China, as well as in Japan, the art of ceramics is very developed whereas in Nepal there is very little ceramic. Artisans and artists often stick to pottery because the techniques of ceramics and cooking are more complex and require material difficult to find in Nepal. Yet the earth is a very lively matter and is everywhere. Moreover, thanks to the technique and a little sensitivity it is possible to offer nobility to this matter yet so humble and easy to find. I turned to this material naturally, because instinctively I was attracted to it ".  Gopal also travels regularly to a pottery community Tharu, a tribe who practices the art of pottery but does not know ceramics, to introduce them to this art.

 Masculinism serie, ceramics

By combining technical skills and in-depth knowledge of materials with great inventiveness, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha is an explorer of forms and materials: "It seems crucial to me to combine one’s technical and gestural skills with knowledge of the materials themselves . In my eyes, materials have their own language, both organic and social. Today, the majority of artists buy manufactured materials and do not always realize what they are made of; nevertheless, when one is interested in the organic nature of the material and the imaginary associated with the material, one manages a better control of his work. Each technique also has a language. For example the technique of raku (technique of ceramic cooking inherited from Japan) makes it possible to obtain cracks whose writing is particular and recognizable, but which varies according to each piece ".

In addition to his creative work, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha teaches at the Kathmandu University Center for Art and Design and has also taught at Jeonju University in South Korea. He animated ceramic workshop in Korea, Pakistan, France, Denmark, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. He has published several books on ceramics and sculpture techniques as well as poems. This interdisciplinary artist carries out a work of cultural interbreeding that highlights the contrasts of the modern and traditional society in which he evolves. To discover more about his work I invite you to follow the following link to his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gopalkalapremi.shrestha?ref=br_rs

Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha, quand la sculpture rencontre la céramique

 Série des taureaux, céramique

Sculpteur, céramiste et plasticien, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha est un artiste népalais qui occupe une place importante dans le milieu artistique de son pays. Il créée, expose, anime des ateliers et participe à des résidences au Népal comme à l'étranger depuis les années 1980. Sa production constitue un univers unique, inspiré par des formes au caractère tribal qu'il revisite avec des lignes très épurées, d’une grande sophistication. Gopal Shrestha emploie librement tout ce qui l'entoure: la terre, les plantes, les minéraux, la cire, le métal, le sable, la sciure de bois, les feuilles d'or et encore bien d’autres médiums pour nous livrer sa propre vision du monde à travers un prisme syncrétique. Si l’on y distingue clairement l’influence de l’art tribal népalais, en particulier de l'ethnie Tharu qui vit au sud du pays, les thèmes qu’il aborde sont directement liés à la période la plus contemporaine de son pays et aux difficultés que ce dernier traverse. Ses créations sont divisées en plusieurs séries aux styles esthétiques contrastés, telles que celle consacrée à la période révolutionnaire qui secoua le Népal de 1996 à 2006 ou encore sa série plus récente de pièces d'échec d'inspiration tribale Tharu. Son travail découle de son observation des transformations socio-culturelles que connait le Népal mais reflète aussi le syncrétisme culturel caractéristique de la société népalaise. De la guerre du peuple aux relations hommes-femmes en passant par l’exil des jeunes népalais en quête d’une vie meilleure à l’étranger, de nombreux aspects de la société népalaise contemporaine sont explorés par Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha, qui possède une perception aiguë de sa société et une sensibilité exceptionnelle pour saisir ce qui l’entoure. 

Série des pièces d'échec, céramique

Issu d’une famille modeste, mais d'une caste où la travail de la terre n'est pas une occupation acceptable, rien ne viendra barrer sa volonté de devenir artiste céramiste et sculpteur. Il occupera différents postes pour financer ses études dans une école d’art : « J’ai eu de très nombreux jobs quand j’étais jeune, j’ai fait la vaisselle dans des restaurants, la lessive pour des hôtels, j’ai cuisiné, bricolé et enfin j’ai enseigné dès que j’ai pu. Toutes ces expériences m’ont permis de financer mes études au Fine Art Lalit Kala Campus  de Katmandou et de débuter ma carrière en tant que sculpteur dans les années 1980. » Il a ensuite commencé à lire des ouvrages sur l'art, en particulier la céramique.  Puis, ses voyages à l’étranger lui ont permis d'observer des céramiques issues de différentes traditions et d'interagir avec des céramistes. "J'ai toujours demandé à mes amis céramistes de l'extérieur du Népal de m'apporter quelque chose d'utile quand ils viennent ici. Ils m'ont donné des livres, des gants et d'autres équipements qui sont précieux parce que ce sont des choses qu'on ne peut pas acheter au Népal. Il est également difficile de se procurer des matériaux de qualité et les produire moi-même est devenu une nécessité, car il était impossible d’importer les produits chimiques nécessaires pour mon travail de céramiste. J'ai rapidement commencé à faire des recherches sur les produits chimiques et ce qui pouvait être extrait des minéraux, des différentes terres mais aussi de la flore du Népal et j’ai ainsi créé mes propres recettes pour obtenir des couleurs et des effets de texture uniques ».

 Exposition de galets en céramique, Musée Taragaon, Katmandou, Népal

Transferts culturels et multiplication des échanges n’ont cessé d’entraîner l’art de Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha dans une série de mutations qui contribuent à l’impression de diversité qu’on éprouve devant son travail. En effet, l’artiste voyage souvent, aussi bien au sein de son pays qu’à l’étranger, et se nourrit des esthétiques et des nouvelles techniques auxquelles il est confronté : « Durant ma jeunesse je voyageais au Népal, ensuite j’ai pu partir à l’étranger et notamment en Europe, où j’ai par exemple appris de nouvelles techniques auprès d’artistes céramistes dans le sud de la France, mais maintenant depuis l’essor d’ internet, j’ai accès à de nombreuses informations de chez moi ». Sa maison, située  à Katmandou, abrite son atelier et une partie de son travail. Véritable musée, elle accueille aussi une collection d'art contemporain, mais surtout, elle accueille des artistes qui viennent ici se former aux techniques de la céramique, telles que Gopal les a transformées et adaptées, forgeant ainsi un savoir technique hybride et unique, qu’il enseigne pour stimuler l’intérêt pour une céramique népalaise, différente des céramiques traditionnelles asiatiques : « En Inde et en Chine, ainsi qu’au Japon, l’art de la céramique est très développé alors qu’au Népal il existe très peu de céramique. Les artisans et les artistes s’en tiennent souvent à la poterie car les techniques de la céramique et de sa cuisson sont plus complexes et demandent du matériel difficile à trouver au Népal. Pourtant la terre est une matière très vivante et qui se trouve partout. De plus, grâce à de la technique et à un peu de sensibilité il est possible d’offrir de la noblesse à cette matière pourtant si humble et aisée à trouver. Je me suis tourné vers cette matière naturellement, parce qu’instinctivement, j’étais attiré par elle ». Gopal se rend aussi régulièrement dans une communauté de potiers Tharu, tribu qui pratique l'art de la poterie mais ne connaît pas la céramique, pour les initier à cet art.

 Série Masculinisme, céramique

En combinant des compétences techniques et des connaissances pointues sur les matériaux à une grande inventivité, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha est un explorateur de formes et de matières: «  Il me paraît crucial de mêler ses connaissances techniques et gestuelles à des connaissances sur les matériaux eux-mêmes. A mes yeux, les matériaux ont leur propre langage, à la fois organique et social. De nos jours, la majorité des artistes achètent des matériaux manufacturés et ne réalisent pas toujours de quoi ils sont composés; pourtant, lorsqu’on s’intéresse à la nature organique du matériau et à l’imaginaire associé à la matière, on parvient à une meilleure maîtrise de son œuvre. Chaque technique possède également un langage. Par exemple la technique du raku (technique de cuisson héritée du japon) permet d’obtenir des craquelures dont l’écriture est particulière et reconnaissable, mais qui varie selon chaque pièce ».

En plus de son travail de création, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha enseigne au Centre d'art et de design de l'Université de Katmandou et a également enseigné à l'Université de Jeonju, en Corée du Sud. Il a animé des ateliers de céramique en Corée, au Pakistan, en France, au Danemark, en Inde, au Bangladesh et au Sri Lanka. Il a également publié plusieurs ouvrages sur les techniques de la céramique et de la sculpture ainsi que des poèmes. Artiste interdisciplinaire, il réalise un travail de métissage culturel qui met en lumière les contrastes de la société à la fois moderne et traditionnelle dans laquelle il évolue. Pour en découvrir d’avantage sur son travail je vous invite à suivre le lien suivant vers sa page facebook : https://www.facebook.com/gopalkalapremi.shrestha?ref=br_rs

Animated marine sculptures by Yutaka Kamiyama

Painter, sculptor and craftsman, gifted with both the ability of designing complex machines and meticulously reproducing nature, Yutaka Kamiyama is a polyvalent Japanese artist, active for more than twenty years in a small seaside town near Tokyo.

Great observer of the marine world, he realizes fascinating kinetic sculptures carved in wood, inspired by the marine fauna, while teaching painting and crafts in parallel. His thorough and delicate animal sculptures are in fact complex and ingenious machines: his marine animals are arranged on carved wooden pedestals that borrow various forms evoking alternately algae, corals or even the ripples of water. These structures are equipped with handles to operate the machinery and animate each real or imaginary marine creature. These kinetic sculptures plunge the spectator into a dreamlike universe, where a whole aquatic bestiary takes life, each piece of wood that compose the body of the animal moves individually. When they are animated, thanks to the action of the handle, we can witness a strange ballet where the dancers are whales, sailfish, sperm whales, scorpionfishes or fish of the abyss, floating in the air gracefully, without truly going anywhere. The poetry that emerges from this spectacle is further reinforced by the scale changes that these animals undergo: the sailfish seems bigger than the sperm whale, the scorpionfish as imposing as the small whale. This game of scale evokes both models of natural sciences and old elaborate toys and form a playful, educational, accessible and particularly endearing visual universe.

Made from natural materials and related to the movement of the body, these animal sculptures break away from technology and robotics and rather bond with the natural sciences and wildlife observation. These sculptures explore the dialectic between the artist, the public and the animal; above all, they question the links between Man and Nature. Man is indeed a part of the work, in the same way as the structure of wood and each piece follows its own grammar, as conceived by the artist: "The main body is carved in wood of hinoki cypress, camphor and gingko; These woods have a strong symbolic significance in Japan and were used in particular for ancient Buddha statues. For the plinth and the mechanical parts, I use a harder wood such as green oak, cherry, elm, chestnut or maple. Each wood has its own characteristic; their differences can be seen by observing their color, their perfume, and their viscosity. I am deeply fascinated by every property of these woods and I see the life of a tree through each piece of them. Using wood, my intention is also to revive the life of the tree in a new form.” The approach of resurrection of the living being undertaken by Yutaka is expressed in the address he shows in his way of imitating animal gestures.

Each artificial animal of Yutaka Kamiyama borrows precisely the gesture that his living model uses to move under the water, thus adding to the impression of realism but also to the poetry that there is to give a new life to wood, in the form of Animals. The movement does not generate a shift but reproduces slowlier the way of moving of each animal, decomposed into mechanical gestures which allows to appreciate with more intimacy the rhythm of the animal. This decomposition of the movement evokes the photographs of Jules-Etienne Marey, or Eadweard Muybridge, who present the prints of each gesture that make up the behavior of an animal in chronological order to decompose it. Nevertheless, the marine animals of Yutaka Kamiyama are animated by a real impulse which is not only suggested by two dimensions; Like the mobiles by Alexander Calder, the machines of Jean Tinguely, the works of the constructivists or even those of several digital artists, this movement participates entirely to the identity of the work. The artist insists on this essential aspect: "I consider that a piece is complete only when the audience animates the sculpture by operating the handle. Public participation is an integral part of the work. "Yutaka Kamiyama aims to make the viewer an actor of his own perception, to lead him into a dynamic of sensory and semantic enlargement. Each of his sculptures can be seen as an experience. The action of the handle makes it possible to hear the crackling of the wood, the squeaks of the mechanisms and the shocks of the articulated parts, thus creating a unique sound landscape, exploring both the plastic and music qualities of wood. Unlike traditional art forms where the interaction between the work and the viewer is primarily a mental event, these interactive machines multiply sensory experiences and participate in a total art combining painting, sculpture, scenography and animation.

 

By combining his technical and biological knowledge with a subtle and dreamlike poetry, Yutaka Kamiyama succeeds in reproducing nature by mechanics. This process can remind of the animated marine animals of Bob Potts, but Yutaka Kamiyama distinguishes himself from this latter by his use of natural materials and especially by the meticulousness of his achievements: "I realized the first piece of this series seven years ago, after my meeting with a sperm whale of 15 meters long, stranded on the beach near my home. Its size and shape struck me and since then I have a great interest in marine life and its environment, which I observe for long hours each day. I am also concerned about its safeguarding and my work also consists in raising awareness of the crucial aspect of the protection of marine fauna ". Thus, each marine animal depends on the spectator to become animated and it is only when the spectator acts that the animal comes to life. This process makes it possible to become aware of the importance of individual action in safeguarding marine fauna, whose fragile equilibrium is threathned.

The kinetic marine fauna of Yutaka Kamiyama was recently presented in Paris at the Salon Art Shopping 2016, where he exhibited a whale from his bestiary: "It was really a good experience for me, I had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who showed interest in my play.” I myself had the opportunity to activate it, to feel the wooden mechanisms set in motion and see the animal come to life in a remarkable way. This experiment as playful as poetic freezes the time and one can remain for a long time activating the crank while watching the animal taking life. These pieces will be exhibited at two events in Japan in 2017: "My biggest pieces will be exhibited during the collective show" Kokuten ", at the National Art Center in Tokyo in May 2017. I also plan to show my biggest three-dimensional work during "The 27th UBE BIENNALE" in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, in August. "

I invite the reader to visit the site of Yutaka Kamiyama which can be found below, to follow the evolution of his work and to discover all his kinetic sculptures.

http://artsofkamiyama.jimdo.com