Tag: modern sculpture

ARTmonday: Modern Sculpture Garden in Japan

With our delayed flight on Sunday (hung out in the San Francisco airport for 8 hours after flying in from Osaka), and adjusting back to Boston life, this post about the sculpture garden called the Hakone Open-Air Museum is a few days delayed. But no less fantastic. I loved exploring Tokyo and Kyoto, but in terms of actual sights, this was by far my favorite.

The Hakone Open-Air Museum opened in 1969 as the first open-air art museum in Japan. I wasn’t sure what “open-air” meant, but quickly discovered it is a vast sculpture garden. There are also four indoor exhibition halls though I didn’t have time to see any of those.

The museum’s collections include about 100 sculptures by both Asian and Western artists including Rodin, Miro, and Moore. In fact, I believe I read that the Hakone Open-Air Museum has the largest collection of Henry Moore sculptures in the world. 

The museum is also known for its hot springs-fed foot bath. (Hakone is a resort town famous for its hot springs.) It was my first introduction to the Japanese foot bath, and sublime. 

Here are some of my favorite pieces from my afternoon at the Hakone Open-Air Museum last week.

Silver Cone Sculpture At Open Air Museum Hakone Japan

unidentified

Modern Sculpture By Agustin Cardenas In Hakone

Agustin Cardenas, Femme au Repos, 1976

Jean Dubuffet Sculpture In Japan

Jean Dubuffet, Arborescence, 1971-80

Miss Black Power Sculptuer At Open Air Museum

Niki de Saint Phalle, Miss Black Power, 1968

Two Hares Sculpture in Hakone Japan

Barry Flanagan, Two Boxing Rabbits, 1965

Abstract Sculpture Of Two Figures By Henry Moore

foreground: Henry Moore
 background: Gabriel Loire, Symphonic Sculpture

Henry Moore Sculpture In Japanese Sculpture Garden Hakone

Henry Moore, Reclining Figure Arch Leg

Ryoli Gojo Intersecting Space Construction

Ryoli Gojo, Intersecting Space Construction, 1978

Ryoli Gojo Intersecting Space Construction Detail

Ryoli Gojo, Intersecting Space Construction, 1978, detail

Giuliano Vangi 2004 White Sculpture In Japan

Giuliano Vangi, Grande Racconto, 2004

Gold Ball Sculpture In Hakone Japan Sculpture Garden

Arnaldo Pomodoro, Sphere Within Sphere (Sfera con sfera)

Fried Egg Benches At Hakone Open Air Museum in Japan

Carl Milles, The Hand of God
fried egg benches

Barbara Hepworth Sculpture In Hakone Japan

Barbara Hepworth, Two Figures, 1968

Henry Moore Sculpture In Hakone Japan Sculpture Garden

Henry Moore, Reclining Figure: Angles, 1979

Jean Arp Gold Blob Figure Sculpture In Japan

Jean Arp, The Giant Pip

Matchinsky-Denninghoff Modern Sculpture At Hakone Open Air Museum

Matchinsky-Denninghoff, Sturm, 1980

Modern Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

unidentified

Hand Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

 Rainer Kreister, Big Hand

Bronze Arm Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

Kenneth Armitage, Both Arms, 1969-70

Modern Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

unidentified

Alexander Calder Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

Alexander Calder, Les Aretes de Poisson, 1966

Jim Dine Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

Jim Dine, The Lookout Tower, 1990

Japanese Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

Hiroatsu Takata, La Mer, 1962

Henry Moore Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

Henry Moore, Family Group, 1948-49

Henry Moore Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

Henry Moore, Mother and Child: Block Seat, 1983-84

Modern Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

César, La Victoire de Villetaneuse, 1965

Pregnant Woman Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

César, La Victoire de Villetaneuse, 1965, detail

Nude Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

César, La Victoire de Villetaneuse, 1965, detail

Mid-Century Modern Sculpture At Hakone Open-Air Museum In Japan

Ossip Zadkine, La Demeure, 1960

Foot Bath At Hakone Sculpture Garden Museum In Japan

foot bath

Get the Look: 34 (Mostly) Modern Sculptures

Bronze sculptures are expensive, modern or new, but there are examples of vintage and contemporary pieces in other mediums, like wood and ceramic, that are well within reach. I love the well-above-my-price-range biomorphic bronze by Antoine Poncet, as well as Kelly Wearstler’s cheeky legs. And the Finnish sheep in smooth black wood is adorable.

S H O P P I N G
‘Crystal Angel’ by Martti Rytkönen for Orrefors, $125 at Unica.
C. Jere Sputnik in Polished Chrome, $99 at Jonathan Adler.
Porcelain Skull by Nymphenburg, $439 at Unica.
Brass Knot, $1,495 at Kelly Wearstler.
‘Totemic Dreams’ with Bronze and Shino Glaze by Victoria Shaw.
‘Pointing Figure’ by Bernard Meadows, 1967, $10,000-$15,000, Sotheby’s
Bronze Legs, $1,495 at Kelly Wearstler.
Black Wood Ram by Aarikka Finland, approx. $615 at Aarikka.
Teak Fish Sculpture by Mike Morgenroth,1979, $24 at Abodeon.
Smolten Mirror by Cmmnwlth, $4,000 at Matter.
Vitra Miniature Wiggle Chair by Frank Gehry, 1972, $130 at MoMA Store.
‘Construction of My Heart’  in Alabaster, $4,500 at Arlene Angard.
Green Laminated Milled Acrylic by Phillip Low, $750 at Moss.
Puppy Abstract by Eero Aarnio for Magis, $147 at Nova68.
Nobuho Miya Iron Birds, $120 at Abodeon.
Briciole Sculpture/Divider by Paola Navone for Riva 1920 at Unica.
Resin Bottles by Constantin & Laurene Leon Boym, $55 at The Future Perfect.
Unglazed Abstract, 1952 by William August Hoffman, $2,500 at Assemblage.
Sputnik by Tony Duquette, c.1960, at Lamberty, 1st Dibs.
Primary Color Cubist Sculpture by Adolf Odorfer, 1971, $8,000 at design/one.
Biomorphic Bronze by Antoine Poncet, late‘50s, $12,800 at Sam Kaufman.
‘Minhir’ by Hans van De Bovenkamp, 2009, $16,000 at Lon Hamaekers.
Kostick Bronze Star, $160 at Abodeon.
Multicolor Acrylic Shapes by Vasa Mihich, $950-$1850 at Galere, 1st Dibs.
Primitive Style African Sculpture, $800 on eBay.
‘Small Boxes #4’ by Mike Wright at Williams McCall Gallery.
Reclaimed Wood Sculpture, $99.95 at Crate & Barrel.
Black Rib Cage in Porcelain By Celia Nkala for Perception Park.
African Fertility Figures, Sierra Leone, 20th c., $5,400 each at Wyeth.
‘The Alexander,’ Stabile, $75 at Nova68.
Wood ‘Ascension,’ by Autin Wright, 2011, bid $6,500 at Grounds for Sculpture.
Brass Salvador Orb Brass Bibelots on Marble, $225 at Jonathan Adler.
‘Some Cords are Feathers’ Bronze by Romolo del Deo.
‘Tangle’ in Chrome by Richard X. Zawitz, 1981, $35 at MoMA Store.