buttai47, 2018
Miho Dohiexpand_more
Wood, paperexpand_more
Gift of funds from Mary and Bob Merskyexpand_more 2021.43
On View in Gallery 374expand_more
Miho Dohi uses materials such as yarn, wire, fabric, sheet metal, paint, and tape to create what she describes simply as buttai, or objects. Compact and complex, each buttai brings together an idiosyncratic constellation of shapes and surfaces, conjoined in subtle or playful juxtapositions. These modestly sized works seem to enact a deft off-balancing of their constitutive parts, even as they hold together tightly as lively self-contained forms.
Since 2008, Dohi has numbered and titled her sculptures buttai (物体). The Japanese word is composed of two kanji characters— 物 / mono (which means thing) and 体 / tai (which means “body”). Dohi explains: “All of my works are ‘objects’ and ‘bodies.’ …A ‘thing’ that also has an element of ‘body’ which involves movement.” Using a carefully selected assortment of materials the artist collects for their beauty and their tactile qualities, as she works Dohi continually turns each assemblage—bending, binding, painting, sewing, hammering, screwing, coiling—to free herself, and to free the object from the limitations of a singular perspective or reading. Each buttai emerges with its own holistic logic and playful rigor, a form endowed with sensitivity, beauty, and humor that reveals the heuristic poetics of its making.
Details
- Title
- buttai47
- Artist Life
- born 1974
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2021.43
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know