SHINKICHI TAJIRI Dutch-American, 1923-2009
Height 41 3/8 inches
Further images
RED BRICK SERIES
"Here in my foundry I feel like the old Alchemist, pouring white hot liquid metal into molds; changing matter." - Shinkichi Tajiri
In 1956, Tajiri found a soft red firebrick used in constructing ovens. He carved and engraved the bricks - sometimes up to 100 pieces - and assembled them into one large mold. The mold was then filled with molten bronze and later broken open to reveal the sculpture. The Red Brick series dated until 1965.
Provenance
Private collection, Japan
Anon. sale, Mainichi Auction, Tokyo, 25 July 2009, lot no. 262
Private collection, The Netherlands
Exhibitions
Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo Gallery, Tajiri, 22 April-4 May 1963, no.8
Literature
Exhibition catalogue, Tokyo Gallery, Tajiri, 1963, no.8, ill.
André Stufkens, Shinkichi Tajiri – Snelheid, Erotiek en Geweld, exh. cat. Museum het Valkhof, Nijmegen 2003, vol. 2, no. 105, ill. p. 139