戶谷成雄

source: designboom

the sculptures of shigeo toya appear ancient, almost fossilized. death and decay in a geologic sense are interconnected themes in his work. the sculptures are carved from large blocks of lumber and stand upright like a tree trunk. grouped together they form a forest and conjure up images of primeval plants and trees. by using a chain saw to gouge fossil-like shapes into the large blocks of wood, the series redefines the concept of sculpture from an eastern standpoint.

combining the simplicity of minimalism with the gaudy decorativeness of baroque art, shigeo toya’s work from the last years has been based on a tense duality that he terms ‘minimalbaroque’. the japanese artist found the exuberantly decorative it in the knotted, complex structures of gnarled trees and forests. in recent years he has been experimenting with making multiple linear cuts in the wood, which form crease-like patterns. with these creases, the interior and exterior meld into each other

the work cave is two meters high and 1.3 meters across. it has a likeness of a ‘woods’ carved into its front and a human-like figure at the back. there is a hole visible in the middle of the ‘woods’ on the front. when it is viewed from the back, the hole becomes the ear of the human-like figure. by looking at the ‘woods’ scenery, you hear its voice: in other words, to be a viewer is also to be a listener. toya sees potential in this duality, this idea that a work can be both relief and sculpture. he presents a world where the senses of sight and hearing are one.
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source: spoon-tamago

The ShugoArts gallery in Tokyo is currently having a large gallery show featuring some of their most prominent artists. One of those is Shigeo Toya, a 66-year old chainsaw sculptor who originally came to prominence in the 1980s, along with a slew of other chainsaw sculptors looking to capitalize on the fame of Jason Voorhees.

But Toya managed to differentiate himself as a fine artist, bringing with him the post-Mono-ha art movement. Like the original Mono-ha movement, the group of artists used elements of nature and a minimal zen aesthetic but introduced a fresh artistic process of reasserting the hand of the artist.

In Toya’s case, the primal force of the chainsaw is clearly evident in the scars of the wood, but only to a certain extent. In other cases it’s almost hard to believe that the intricate relief carvings were done with something like a chainsaw.
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source: blogartronnet

日本艺术家户谷成雄（1947—）以木质材料做为他雕刻的主要媒材，他曾多次造访意大利的庞贝古城，面对火山灰中遗留的各种残骸以及聆听关于古城的种种传说，他开始思考他所关心的雕塑的本质问题。户谷成雄认为，雕塑的表面是“空间与实体之间的关系的别名”，他在1974年就这个问题作了最初的尝试。此后，他还曾采用内置钢筋的石膏块进行雕刻。在《假设的雕塑》等一系列作品中，户谷成雄又继续对容积空间、内部构造等问题进行探讨。

1984年，户谷成雄的《森》系列作品发表，确立了他的个人风格。《森》系列对于户谷成雄来说是创作上的一个突破口，他在这里找到了构思的立足点，1989年的《森林·生灵之死》是他这一时期的代表作。后来的《湿地带》、《地灵》等一系列作品就是这个命题的进一步展开。他摆脱了物派的反造型主义的影响，再度强调雕塑作为“表现”的创作。他使用了链锯这个带有几分暴力意味的工具，以激烈的刀法赋予作品表面以独特的触觉效果，并产生一种巴洛克式的浑厚的存在感。他的作品不仅仅是手的技巧而且是全身心力量的孕造。

户谷成雄作品中的森林，不是绿色荡漾的森林，而是死去的森林、失去的森林。但是，这种森林又不是存在于自然之中，而是存在于无意识的秩序之中，他的作品是对“构造”的表现。户谷成雄认为，雕塑是不断地对内部构造提出问题的，但即便是再高明的雕塑家也无法进入雕塑的“内部”。1992年创作的《地下的房子》是户谷成雄对此进行的新的尝试。作品试图将观众从雕塑静谧的外表引导进其内部，仿佛走进户谷成雄的个人世界。

在创作中不断地把意识溶进作品内部的户谷成雄，似乎重新回归到前现代主义时期艺术所关注的问题，从他的作品所具有丰富的多面性特征，确实可以看出他对东方文明的基点问题的关心以及投向前现代主义的视线。同时也可以说，这是他对日本民族心理深层因素的发掘和表现。