{"id":906,"date":"2025-04-12T17:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T17:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/?p=906"},"modified":"2025-04-17T17:32:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:32:26","slug":"an-ikebana-artist-and-his-student-sow-an-unconventional-approach-to-flower-arranging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/12\/an-ikebana-artist-and-his-student-sow-an-unconventional-approach-to-flower-arranging\/","title":{"rendered":"An Ikebana Artist and His Student Sow an Unconventional Approach to Flower Arranging"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to explode the idea of beautiful ikebana,\u201d says Kosen Ohtsubo<\/a>, one of the foremost conceptual artists working in the Japanese tradition.<\/p>\n

Since the 1970s, Ohtsubo has been unsettling the ancient art of flower arranging. Incorporating atypical botanicals like cabbage leaves or weaving in unconventional materials like bathtubs and scrap metal, the artist approaches making with the mindset of a jazz musician, a genre he frequently listens to while working. Improvisation and experimentation are at the core, along with an unquenchable desire for the unexpected.<\/p>\n

\"a
Detail of Kosen Ohtsubo, \u201cLinga Mu\u0308nchen\u201d (2025), 300 Basket willow branches, candle, metal frame, plastic and metal ties, scrap metal, soil, various flowers and leaves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An exhibition at Kunstverein M\u00fcnchen<\/a> in Munich pairs Ohtsubo with Christian K\u014dun Alborz Oldham who, after discovering the ikebana icon\u2019s work in a book in 2013, became his student. Titled Flower Planet<\/em>\u2014which references a sign<\/a> that hangs outside Ohtsubo\u2019s Tokorozawa home and studio\u2014the show presents various sculptures and installations that invite viewers to consider fragility, decay, and the elusive qualities of beauty and control.<\/p>\n

Given the ephemeral nature of the materials, photography plays an important role in most ikebana practices as it preserves an arrangement long after it has wilted. This exhibition, therefore, pairs images of earlier works with new commissions, including Ohtsubo\u2019s standout orb titled \u201cLinga Mu\u0308nchen.\u201d Nested in a bed of soil and leaves, the large-scale sculpture wraps willow with metal structures and positions a small candle within its center.<\/p>\n

Similarly immersive is \u201cWillow Rain,\u201d which suspends thin branches from the ceiling. Subverting the way we typically encounter fields of growth, the work is one of many in the exhibition that seeds questions about our relationship to the natural world and the limits of human control.<\/p>\n

Flower Planet<\/em> is on view through April 21. Explore Ohstubo\u2019s vast archive on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a
Kosen Ohtsubo, \u201c\u30b1\u30ed\u30a4\u30c9\u4eba\u9593\u00a0\/\u00a0Keloid Man\u201d (August 1976), mannequin, paulownia. First published in\u00a0Ikebana Ryusei Magazine, October 1976. Photo by Ryusei Photo Department<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Detail of Kosen Ohtsubo, \u201cLinga Mu\u0308nchen\u201d (2025), 300 Basket willow branches, candle, metal frame, plastic and metal ties, scrap metal, soil, various flowers and leaves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"an
Kosen Ohtsubo, \u201cWillow Rain\u201d (2025), 800 basket willow branches, metal frame<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Christian K\u014dun Alborz Oldham, \u201cThis is happening because we live today in a time of corruption [\u2026],\u201d (September 27 to November 4, 2017), asparagus. Photo by Jueqian Fang<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"green
Christian K\u014dun Alborz Oldham, \u201cPenny Waking up from a Dream\u201d (2025), carrot, Chinese long bean,
reflecting sphere, Japanese woven bamboo basket<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"carrots
Detail of Christian K\u014dun Alborz Oldham, \u201cPenny Waking up from a Dream\u201d (2025), carrot, Chinese long bean, reflecting sphere, Japanese woven bamboo basket<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Detail of Kosen Ohtsubo, \u201cLinga Mu\u0308nchen\u201d (2025), 300 Basket willow branches, candle, metal frame, plastic and metal ties, scrap metal, soil, various flowers and leaves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"white
Kosen Ohtsubo, \u201c\u602a\u828bIII \/ Strange Callas III\u201d (2025), Calla lily, willow, custom-designed iron box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article An Ikebana Artist and His Student Sow an Unconventional Approach to Flower Arranging<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI want to explode the idea of beautiful ikebana,\u201d says Kosen Ohtsubo, one of the foremost conceptual artists working in the Japanese tradition. Since the 1970s, Ohtsubo has been unsettling the ancient art of flower…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading “An Ikebana Artist and His Student Sow an Unconventional Approach to Flower Arranging”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":919,"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906\/revisions\/919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scrollsugar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}