Forms and Colors of Textile 21st.Dec.2010-30th.Jan.2011 Okayama Prefectural Museum

26th. December.  Camouflage Yellow２  Performance 

Suzumi Noda 

Five Girls Bar Lesson　music/Radio Exercise   3 minutes 

left/Suzumi Noda  center/Jun Mitsuhashi  right/Masakazu Kobayashi　wall/Naomi Kobayashi

Mitsuo Toyazaki

Tetsuo Kusama

Camouflage Yellow 16th-21st.November.2010

Gallery Haneusagi / Kyoto
I think that the color yellow is the most distinguished color, so I invited people to put on bright yellow color clothes which are not worn everyday.

When people become couched in the yellow screen , they became objects in my work.
Their minds changed and became lighter , happier , more positive.

Everyone turned from being viewers into being art objects.

This enabled me to complate my artwork  "Camouflage Yellow"
My work is in the field of textiles, concerning materials, technique, and wearability are important to enable viewers to enjoy a direct relationship and experience with the art.

I am showing this work in "Forms and Colors of Textile" a group exhibition at Okayama Prefectural Museum and in collaboration with "Cultex "Exhibition.

Cultex is produced  by Lesley Millar who is a Professor of Textile Culture University College for the Creative Arts (UK) . 3 Japanese artists and 3 Norwegian artist  are participating in this exhibition.

This version of Camouflage Yellow will include pieces made by many other people who participated in my workshop last summer at the same museum .

They brought yellow items to the museum workshop with a view to creating things to conceal in the Camouflage Yellow Installation this December.

I hope you will be able to come and enjoy the exhibition.

Shindigo - Hiroyuki Shindo 16th.July.2010

On 15th July, I visited Hiroyuki Shindo's atelier in Miyama. Thirty years ago, he and his family moved to this village because it's possible to get good ash there for using in the indigo-dying process. 

Since he was young, he has collected a lot of indigo cloth and garments from all over the world for research,which he now shows to other people. They are displayed on the second floor of his atelier,The little Indigo Museum .

His main artwork is objets, but he also makes yukata (casual light kimono) and handtowels amongst other things.
His small rag cloths are made into beautiful patchwork cloths by his mother,and into pretty bags and pouches by his wife Chikako.
Some time ago, when I was ordering one of his yukata, he showed me a range of  cloths to choose from. Chikako advised me to get a summer kimono (hito-e) rather than a yukata, because it would have a much longer life, and I agreed.
I chose a pale cream colored cloth with Shindigo design.

He has an advanced technique. Sometimes, when people decide to buy his handtowels (tenugui) because they have a nice texture and quality and are good to use, they don't know that he's a famous artist. I think that is the sign of a true textile.

He has extensively studied and researched indigo-dyeing and shibori to create his own original artwork which fuses these two techniques. He calls it "Shindigo". He has an advanced technique but his artwork is very minimalist, so it looks simple even though it's very complex. From looking at his finished work, it's impossible to see the effort that he puts in. For me, that is complete artwork - perfect timing, perfect sense of space, perfect balance.

His small rag cloths are made into beautiful patchwork cloths by his mother,and into pretty bags and pouches by his wife Chikako.

Armel Barraud 2010 10th. July Seikado Gallery

For 2 months she has been in Kyoto for an Artist in Residence with Franco Japonais Intitute.
She is staying at Villa Kujoyama.

She is begining to make her work in the kura (storehouse) gallery at Seikado.

I went to meet Armel to at seikado - that is the oldest metal crafts company in Japan.

She wanted to ask me some questions about her work. I could just help a little bit.

According to Seikado's owner Mr.Ymanaka's blog, Armel had showed her work at an exhibition at Maison et Objet in France. He invited her to come to use the Seikado storehouse to create her works.

She will show her works there from Sept 11th to Sept 20th as an installation.

She also studied animation and she also studied bobbin lace. She uses a good combination of traditional techniques with her own original techniques. Her metalwork looks like fluid one line drawing, thin delicate sketches which are like storyboard images. The lighting casts shadows of the works on the wall behind them, so when I look at her work, it seems to move.
This "sketch" of many parts creates an enjoyable story for me.

I think it will be an interesting exhibition.

The owner's wife, Kazuko Yamanaka is a metalwork artist who makes crochet objects and large works as well as beautiful jewellery.

International Triennial of Tapestry 10th.May.2010-31.Oct.2010

The International Triennial of Tapestry is an international tapestry exhibition held every 3 years in Lodz, Poland. This year, it opens on 10th May, 2010.

Keiko Kawashima is the commissioner who selected 5 Japanese artists: Chika Ogi, Noriko Narahira, Yoriko Murayama, Kinuyo Yoshimizu and myself, Suzumi Noda. 130 artists have been selected from  51 countries, to be presented at the Central Textile Museum. I will show an artwork featuring obi sashes. In spring 2009, I held a show at Gion Konishi Gallery in Kyoto which is part of this series.

As I'm unable to attend the opening, I won't know who will receive the Abakanowicz -made trophies (gold, silver and bronze), but I think I'll be able to find out from other members of the Japanese contingent who will be present. When I get the news, I'll report it on this website. This exhibition will be held until autumn (6 months). I hope to visit, as well as go to Prague in Czechoslovakia and visit Jan Švankmajer's Art Gallery .

Concept: Words Possessing Value as Commodities: Tradition

Primarily, craft is integral to our life. If we don't use it, vitality and life are lost in a moment. Traditionally, craft objects are put on show and become research objects at museums and galleries. They are indeed beautiful in themselves but I feel that they should be used in daily life. Even though I am continually overwhelmed by traditional techniques when I see them, I try to create an innovative style which moves away from them.

Even when things are cut up small, they keep their style and beautiful upright standing.

Remake Project 2010 24th.April-8th.May GALLERYGALLERY

Cloth that is too special to be thrown away is kept in chests for long periods of time. In the Remake Project, I take them into my care for you and remake them to accentuate your life so that you can enjoy reusing them. For this current exhibition, I have taken 4 pairs of Keiko Kawashima's pants into my care and remade them. this is The Case of Keiko Kawashima .

When I use things so much that they become used up, I think it's nice that they can be turned into Japanese dusters (zoukin).  

Exhibition, Gallery Maronie, Kyoto, 2008.

The shape of a cotton kimono is straight, and the material is natural. I think this is a complete process to make zoukin. Western clothes are constructed from a lot more pieces of fabric using complex pattern-making, so it is much more difficult for them to become zoukin. This is why I enjoy the meandering path of remaking them on their way to becoming dusters. It's not artwork, but an everyday practice, because originally textiles exist as daily items.

Using red stitches, I gradually remade some black pants where they were stained, thin and threadbare, so that they gradually became redder and redder. I've been wearing them since 1999 and they're turning into beautiful red zoukin.

At Gallery Gallery EX, Kyoto, in 2002, I had hoped to have more artwork, a number of friends gave clothes into my care, I remade them for the show and returned them to the owners after the exhibition. I didn't have any works left in my possession after that show as everything had been given back.

From 2007 I made merchandise. And so, from the current show I have co-ordinated plastic and other cloth to become hats, dresses and knitted shirts. When I construct with plastic, the work isn't biodegradable so fusion with cloth doesn't create beautiful zoukin or upgrade the value of the object in an ecological sense. It forces me to consider where the end-product will finish up. In this case, I think it's best not to create objects which are entirely new, however I do still have strong desires to do so, and this issue plays on my mind every day.

Beer Mug Rankai 2010 7.April-9.April

I went to Sapporo as I had been invited to be on the jury panel for The 8th Beer Mug Rankai . This trip began with a surprise when ANA in-flight service was suspended and I couldn't even find coffee on the menu. I arrived at Chitose Airport and went directly to the Jury Meeting Hall at Sapporo Artpark t in the snow. The setting was a beautiful place full of outdoor sculptures. When I went into the hall, there were over 800 mugs and tumblers lined up. Isn't this a difficult to judge? I had hoped that if I finished judging early, I could visit Moerenuma Park , designed by Isamu Noguchi, but there was no way.

on the first day of judging we selected outstanding works, and on the second day created the list of finalists. The judging process was done smoothly. I thought that a lacquer work and another using marquetry (wood inlay) were beautiful, but I had to wonder about the aesthetics of beer being poured into these vessels...

Glass and coloured materials give the beer froth a fascinating, awesome effect. I really did my best because each jury member was required to give a Juror's Award. The judges report will be available on the Beer Mug Rankai website, so please take a look at it.

Asahara Chiyoji is a famous glass artist who is the Chief Judge and initially proposed this competition. I had previously met him as a Judge of the Itami Craft Competition. Sometimes after that I met him at his exhibitions, but that's all. This time, he talked about when he established the glass studio in Otaru while we dined on Chitose Zuru (sake) and Ezo Shika Ruibe (frozen sashimi). We had a good time. I went around Chitose Airport looking for souvenirs; it was full of sweets and I did some taste-testing until I was too full. I had heard about Machimura Farm Milk from the taxi driver and bought some, as well as some salmon jerky for my daughter, who likes to drink. Sapporo is a great town.

Knitting Exhibition 2010 1st.Feb-6th.Feb Gallery WA2

The artworks were installed and taken care of by Kawasaki-san and Yamamoto-san, the gallery staff, and I was finally able to visit on the last day of the exhibition. On this day, Mr. Moriyasu, the head of Moriyasu Hat Factory, introduced me to Mr. Yoshizawa, the President of Weave Toshi. Mr. Yoshizawa made a call to the designers at CA4LA to come and pay us a visit. One of them, Ms. Tanimoto graduated from an art university in Kyoto. She was wearing a black dress with lots of strings attached to it, and tried on one of my gold knitted shirts and a beaver hat decorated with gold knitting. She looked cool! I thought of her as a muse, so I wanted her to wear my shirt. But because she is a designer I couldn't force her. Mr. Yoshizawa is standing behind her in the photograph. He was wearing a Borsalino Hanchin Hat which he took off at my request to try on my Hand Wig.  He looked like Dr. Hakase, the famous Japanese animation character. Junjun, the famous CA4LA designer, also tried on the Hand Wig. I think all of these designers are busy but rather than looking stressed, they are young and confident. I think they have good creative challenges and rewards form the company.

Atsuyo Kawasaki, the owner of Gallery WA2 Gallery in Tokyo, tried on a black knitted coat. When we had first met, it was in the heat of summer and I had been hurrying because I was running late. She was sitting in the hotel cafe looking gorgeous, and I just wanted to have an exhibition at her gallery.  Since then I have held exhibitions at WA2 annually. She has been helpful in advising me how to develop my merchandise line of knitted shirts.