Study of Karesansui

Overview

The work of Taro Shinoda often explores humans’ relationship to nature, science and engineering. Formally trained in traditional Japanese gardening from a young age, Shinoda has always considered the ascetic philosophy of karesansui (dry landscape garden), with its unique roots in abstraction and nature, an inspiration for his art. Preserved and passed down for more than five hundred years, karesansui depicts nature through the selection and placement of rocks, trees, moss, gravel and sand, mediated through the passage of time. In 2013–14, Shinoda made one hundred and eight landscape drawings in as many days to study the true essence of the garden. These drawings are on view in the Sharjah Art Museum.

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 12