The works of Japanese-American artist Jun Kaneko are still relatively unknown in France. American Design offers an opportunity to discover his ceramic work, which gave rise to the ‘California style’.
When he landed at Los Angeles Airport in 1963, arriving from Nagoya, Japan, Jun Kaneko had no return ticket in his pocket. He enrolled at the Chouinard Art Institute, which had been attended three years earlier by Ed Ruscha, the future icon of the Californian art scene. He was introduced to the famous American collector Fred Marer, who guided him towards contemporary ceramics. He studied under Peter Voulkos, founder of the California Clay Movement in the 1950s.
This movement, of which Stan Bitters is one of the heirs (a series of stools is also featured in the sale, estimated at €4,000/€6,000 per pair), has elevated ceramics from the status of craft to that of art. It also perfectly illustrates the typical Californian lifestyle of outdoor living: objects and furniture must be versatile enough to be moved from inside the house to the poolside. Jun Kaneko's Japanese culture of openness to the outside world, natural materials and minimalism has integrated perfectly into this creative ecosystem. The six sculptures on offer - two pieces from the Dango series (€20,000 / €30,000) and four wall sculptures (€7,000 / €9,000) - are hand-painted and reveal part of the world of this now world-famous artist. The play of light on the clean lines and dense, deep enamels evokes a poetry reminiscent of Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows, transcended by the magic of abstraction.
