Jun Kaneko, born in Nagoya, Japan in 1942, began his formal studies in art in the United States at the Chouinard Art Institute and continued at Berkeley and Claremont Graduate School. Since the mid-1990s, Kaneko has focused on an ongoing series of immense-scaled ceramic works—collectively referred to by the artist as dangos (Japanese for rounded form.) The multiple steps involved with each piece (drawing, painting, firing and glazing) require constant and intense engagement with the artist’s hand. These four sculptures represent a larger body of work called the Mission Clay Project, which created a total of forty-one new sculptures. This project took three years to complete.

This sculptural installation is in conjunction with a city-wide celebration of the artwork of Jun Kaneko, coinciding with the East Coast debut of his production of the opera Madama Butterfly with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in October 2009. Entitled “On the Wings of Music: Art, Opera & You,” this celebration includes the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s installation of Kaneko’s sculptural work in the Perelman building’s Skylit Galleria. This is one of four installations throughout the city exhibiting sculpture by this internationally acclaimed artist. It will be the only installation of the four extended through April 2010 to coincide with the 44th Annual Conference of the National Conference on Education For The Ceramic Arts (NCECA), entitled “Independence” which celebrates contemporary ceramic art.

Other installations around the City of Philadelphia:

• Jun Kaneko: Installation
  City Hall Courtyard
  September 8 – October 24, 2009
• Commonwealth Plaza, Kimmel Center
  September 8 – October 24, 2009
• Jun Kaneko Intimate Relationships
  Locks Gallery
  September 22 – October 31, 2009

Curator

Elisabeth Agro • The Nancy M. McNeil Associate Curator of American Modern and Contemporary Crafts and Decorative Arts

Location

Skylit Galleria, Perelman Building