A nature-inspired exhibition takes root at California’s Salmon Creek Farm

New works by Dan John Anderson, Kazunori Hamana, Yu Kobayashi, and Ido Yoshimoto are a part of ‘Jinen’, an exhibition now on show at Salmon Creek Farm, Fritz Haeg’s cultural commune and inventive hub in California’s redwood forest after their debut in April at A-Z West in Joshua Tree. Titled ‘Jinen’, after the Japanese phrase for ‘residing as a part of nature’, the present was created in partnership with Tokyo’s Curator’s Dice gallery. 

All 4 artists collaborating within the venture reside in gorgeous, untouched places and discover a lot of their inspiration (and generally supplies) within the pure landscapes round their studios. The California-based Dan John Anderson and Ido Yoshimoto work respectively from Yucca Valley, within the dramatic Mojave Desert, and Inverness, subsequent to the plush forests and sea cliffs of the Level Reyes Peninsula. Kazunori Hamana and Yu Kobayashi, in the meantime, are each primarily based on Japan’s rural Pacific Coast.

‘Jinen’ at Salmon Creek Farm

The concept for the exhibition emerged organically between the artists, via their shared affiliation with the gallery, and goals to help Kobayashi’s US debut. Her vibrant summary work set the tone for the exhibition, with Anderson, Yoshimoto and Hamana making work that responds to, and enhances, her items.

Kobayashi, who lives and works in a self-built studio constituted of driftwood and recycled materials close to the seaside city of Shizuoka, is a ceramic artist by coaching but additionally a sculptor and painter. Her work, impressed by the pine forests and gorgeous views on Mount Fuji discovered close to her residence, is a significant affect on the opposite three artists.

Anderson presents 13 works in native West Coast woods, with the items’ totem-like architectural types and parts in blackened wooden, bronze, aluminium and stained glass punctuating the pure environment.

Though now primarily based close to Joshua Tree, Anderson grew up immersed within the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, and his work is impressed by a deep reverence for wooden, and rooted in collaborative ethos.

Extremely private and experimental, Yoshimoto’s six summary sculptures are constituted of California redwood salvaged from close to his residence in Inverness. His appreciation and thorough understanding for the timber stems from his 20 year-long profession as an arborist. Working with massive chunks of uncooked materials, Yoshimoto explores kind, slowly peeling again layers to create each purposeful and sculptural items.