A constant theme of my work has been an element of mystery. Silk-organza- fabricated forms are transparent vessels that contain mysterious elements. The small box series evolved into larger wall pieces that eventually took the form of the human body, our own enigmatic containers.
Silk organza, dye, silver leaf, silk thread. 8" x 8" x 8"
Silk organza, metal wire, dye. 4" x 4" x 4"
Silk organza, dye, metal wire, copper leaf. 7" x 7" x 7"
Silk organza fabricated. 20.5" x 17" x 13"
Silk organza, stiffener, gold leaf, metal wire. 35" x 36" x 6"
Silk organza, indigo dye, stiffener, metal wire. 39" x 32" x 5"
Silk organza, indigo dye, stiffener, metal wire. 39" x 32" x 5"
Silk organza, stiffener, gold leaf, metal wire. 78" x 35" x 4"
Silk organza, dye, stiffener, metal wire. 39" x 29" x 5"
Silk organza fabricated. 20" x 22" x 15"
Silk organza fabricated. 59" x 17" x 17"
Silk organza, dye, stiffener. 20" x 14" x 9"
Seeking a new language, I headed to Yaddo, an artist colony in Saratoga Springs, with an armful of metal mesh. There are many different kinds of metal mesh material such as copper, stainless steel, bras and aluminum. Ultimately I was drawn to aluminum mesh because its versatility and lightness reminded me of silk organza. I also incorporated the traditional Japanese wrapping cloth, furoshiki, used to giving gifts. What is inside? One can only guess.
Aluminum mesh, gold leaf, embroidery. 20" x 9.5" x 12"
Aluminium mesh, gold leaf, embroidery. 20" x 22" x12"
Aluminium mesh, gold leaf, embroidery. 17" x 17.5" x 9"
Aluminium mesh, gold leaf, rice paper, thread . 19" x 21.5" x 6.5"
Copper mesh, copper leaf, paint, embroidery. 22" x 22" x 12"
Aluminium mesh, oxidized silver leaf, embroidery. 15" x 20" x 13"
Brass mesh, gold leaf, embroidery. 38" x 37" x 3.5"
Aluminum and brass mesh, gold leaf, embroidery. 64" x 18" x 10"
The first meter of silk produced by a silkworm is not really silk at all. Rather, it’s a coarse, uneven fibre called kibiso that resembles something between twine and waxed dental floss. Compared to its more fully-developed self, kibiso is decidedly un-silky and has for most of silk-making history been discarded as useless.
After decades of working with silk organza and metal to create transparent and translucent sculptures, I recently discovered kibiso, the coarsely textured first strand of silk a silkworm produces. Long considered a waste product of the silk spinning industry, kibiso was once discarded from silk factories. But the recent environmental movement encouraged manufacturers to reconsider the possibilities of kibiso, so they distributed it to artists and designers. Because kibiso was different from the soft, fine silk I worked with for years, it intrigued me. I started to paint it with dye and weave the coarse threads as if they were fine silk.
I immediately appreciated this material, seeing its roughness as metaphor for the beginning of any new practice. Kibiso is a remnant, so the threads need to be connected and disconnected. As my own life shifted with a relocation from New York to Virginia, I began using kibiso to articulate my personal experiences with disrupted and reconnected relationships and as a symbol for my own crossing from North to South and to a different way of life.
Kibiso and 24 k Gold leaf. 61" x 55"
Kibiso and Gold leaf. 61" x 55"
Kibiso and Gold leaf. 58" x 28"
Kibiso and Gold Leaf. 58" x 28"
Kibiso, rice paper and dye. 22.5" x 17" x 9"
Kibiso, rice paper and dye. 22" x 15" x 8"
Kibiso and gold leaf. 20" x 17" x 17"
Kibiso, gold leaf
Kibiso. 25" x 55" x 7"
Kibiso
Sculpture; Kibiso, dye, stiffener. 60" x 29" x 14" Drawing; Graphite on paper. 84" x 60"
Kibiso. 43" x 42"
Kibiso, gold leaf. 45" x 55"
Kibiso, gold leaf
Kibiso, dye. 87" x 60"
Kibiso, dye
Kibiso, paint. 55" x 108"
Kibiso, paint
Kibiso, paint. 58" x 48" x 4"
Kibiso, paint
Kibiso, silver leaf, indigo dye, canvas. 30" x 33"
Kibiso, silver leaf, indigo dye, canvas
Ogarami choshi, silver leaf, 8.5" x 8" x 6.5"
Ogarami choshi, silver leaf, 8.5" x 8" x 6.5"
Ogarami choshi, dye, thread
8.5" x 8" x 6.5"
Ogarami choshi, dye, thread
8.5" x 8" x 6.5"
Ogura choshi, wire. 8.5" x 8" x 6.5"
Ogarami choshi, silver leaf, paint. 7.5" x 7.5" x 7.5"
Kibiso. 17" x 10" x 8"
Kibiso, rice paper. 13" x 16" x 12"
On display at the Fowler Museum at UCLA September 11-January 15 2017
This dazzling exhibition features commissions by three dozen acclaimed international artists including Richard Tuttle, Cynthia Schira, Helena Hernmarck, James Bassler, Gyöngy Laky, Gerhardt Knodel, Sherri Smith, N. Dash, Lewis Knauss, Ana Lisa Hedstrom, Kiyomi Iwata, Nancy Koenigsberg, and John Garrett. It showcases these skilled artists’ ingenious use—and often-expansive definitions—of fiber, while exploring the collector/artist relationship. The commissioned works come from The Cotsen Collection.
“Just when you think you’re at a dead end, something happens.”
Kiyomi Iwata is a Japanese artist, living in America. Her work speaks to her personal journey, marking the transitions from one stage of her life to the next. Iwata currently lives and works in Richmond, Virginia after decades of living in the New York area. Her most recent body of work is about this transition. She has been making art for decades with a long list of exhibitions and her works can be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Art and Design and the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum along with many others. Her work has recently been acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She has been featured in American Craft Magazine, Dec/Jan 2016 issue, and has recently had a retrospective show, held in 2015 at the Visual Arts Center in Richmond.
