KOJI TANADA

Eleven Boys, One Girl

After working early in his career with contemporary materials like steel and resin, Japanese sculptor Koji Tanada turned to a material that underlined his cultural identity: wood, specifically mokucho, the traditional Japanese wood-carving technique that began with artisans making Buddhist figures in the pre-modern age. He was also fascinated by late-Gothic German carving. This book features his figures of children, remarkably touching and tender pieces, exquisitely detailed down to protruding ribs and single strands of hair. He then paints the surfaces in a proprietary combination of acrylics and floor wax, creating strangely realistic and individual figures. These works balance conceptual and concrete, innocence and maturity, vulgarity and holiness.

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