Contemporary Art in Context: En Iwamura

Sculptor and painter En Iwamura connects centuries, cultures, and people with his large-scale ceramic sculptures. His artwork merges art history with the present, embracing the idea of fluency in Japanese ceramic traditions, while challenging stereotypes about the rigidity of Japanese “craft” history.

A Pause in Time
The universality of both sculpture and ceramics in conveying messages drew Iwamura to these two art forms. He is currently focusing on how to alter the aesthetic experience of the viewers who share space with his installations. The artist wants viewers to experience the concept of ma, defined as a pause in time or the emptiness in the space between humans or between humans and objects. The idea of tangible ma is part of the artist’s understanding of the expressive power of his sculptures, which he refers to as three-dimensional doodles.

Artworks and Process
Iwamura builds his minimalist forms using the traditional coil method, the same process used by the Jōmon culture of Japan (ca. 10,000–300 BCE), who were renowned for the beauty of their ceramic innovations. After forming his subject, which comes to him as he works, he scores lines in the surface. In his Neo-Jōmon artworks, he is referencing the importance of ceramics in ancient Japanese culture while, at the same time, bringing new forms to life.

Iwamura’s references to traditional Japanese aesthetics do not end with ceramics. In works like Neo-Jōmon: Mountain Fantôme , the flowing parallel lines on the surface recall the precisely raked sand gardens of Japanese Zen temples (Iwamura formerly worked as a gardener’s assistant). The gentle repetition of pyramid forms in Fantôme is a clever three-dimensional take on the layered landscapes of traditional Japanese landscape painting.

During the Kofun period (200–552 CE), figures called haniwa (meaning “circle of clay”) were place around burial mounds in a ritualistic and protective manner. The head forms of Cloud Head and Deep Ocean resemble the faces of these figures. The whimsical expressions present an anime or manga aesthetic. The monumental form of Still Dreaming, a greatly abstracted head, has the visual impact of the Olmec ruler stone heads of ancient Mexico. Iwamura updates his influences into forms that often have the big-eyed, childlike faces of Japanese comics, covered in neat lines that relate to the cord pattern that decorates Jōmon vessels. Iwamura believes that defining the space on the surface of the work between its contours enforces the concept of ma. He attributes the sense of tranquility in his work to the slow, quiet pace of life in his country studio in Shiga, east of Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital.

Art History: Japanese Ceramic Arts
The ceramic arts of Japan—both utilitarian and sculptural—have a history extending back to the Neolithic period (ca. 10,500 BCE). Japanese artists are believed to have created the first ceramics in the world, which were decorated “for decoration’s sake” during the Jōmon era. Japanese artists perfected sophisticated stoneware traditions in the 1600s, producing what would become highly prized imports in Western societies, inspiring numerous imitations, as well as art movements like Impressionism and Art Nouveau.

About the Artist
En Iwamura was born into an artistic household in Kyoto, Japan, in 1988. He received both a BFA (2011) and an MFA in ceramics (2013) from the College of Art in Kanazawa, at which he concluded that ceramics were the ideal vehicle for him to explore his ideas about the importance of art as a communication tool. Large-scale ceramic sculptor Jun Kaneko (b. 1942) had a major impact on Iwamura, convincing him to visit the US and expand his cultural ceramic knowledge. While teaching ceramics at Clemson University (2013–2016), Iwamura was fascinated by the Western penchant for group identification rather than the individualism preferred by the Japanese with their emphasis on ma as an important element in aesthetics. He hopes his works will transport the viewer into a new “metaphysical realm” that will prompt contemplation of his forms and allow the viewer to build their own narratives.

ARTIST Q&A
What are some of the biggest influences on your work, including other artists, events, or things outside of the arts?
EI: I think traveling is most inspiring on my art practice. Knowing new people, countries, cultures, cities, and food encourages me to explore the world more with my artwork.

What is a typical workday like for you?
EI: I am a new father, and I am working three days a week, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Outside of that, I am focusing on spending time with my family.

Do you have specific strategies, rituals, or routines that help you work and/or generate ideas?
EI: I just try to go [to my] studio when I can. Even when I have no idea what I want to do, showing up to my workspace is important.

Which of Japanʼs ceramic traditions influence your work?
EI: Many of them are inspiring. I studied a craft major, and I like to study traditional customs. I like ancient ceramics such as haniwa, Doki, and Jōmon pottery.

Is there a special message behind any of your many pieces that portray young people?
EI: I want them to enjoy encounters with something they don’t know, or something they haven't imagined.

Jingdezhen was once a major center of porcelain produced for Chinese emperors. Do you work in porcelain, why or why not, and how would that medium contrast with your imagery?
EI: I use stoneware because I like hand-building. Porcelain is beautiful, but it is not easy to manipulate by hand.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself as an emerging artist?
EI: Just go to the studio and make something you want. Don’t worry about someone’s comments, but instead focus on your thoughts. And share what you think with other people at same time.

Discussion
Begin by sharing examples of Japanese Jōmon pottery with your students. Ask them to pay special attention to the textures, marks, and surface treatments. Ask, “What do you think these lines and symbols might represent? Why do you think so?” After some discussion, explain that you will now examine work from a contemporary Japanese artist whose work connects deeply with the Jōmon tradition. Then share Iwamura’s work, including the Neo-Jōmon series.

Studio Experiences

Create a functional ceramic artwork that combines traditional scoring or sgraffito techniques with contemporary cartoon or video game characters.
Working collaboratively as a class or in small groups, create a series of ceramic figures and arrange them into an installation. How will they fit together? What feelings or ideas might your installation suggest?
Choose an ancient art form or style that you find interesting and create a new artwork inspired by it. Be careful not to simply copy the historical work; instead, consider how you can bring it into today’s world.

Merging Past and Present