Cool Hunting
When asked why he makes his toy robots with wood, artist and maker of the handmade wooden Take-G Toys, Takeji Nakagawa, comments, "I don't really have an exact answer but I often relate my robots with the future. What we really want is a future full of trees and something more natural. I don't think humans can live without trees no matter what advances technology makes."
Much like Lee Stoetzel, Nakagawa glues together a combination of textures from different types of wood (a Japanese tree Keyaki, teak wood, walnut and white ash) to create contrasting patterns and lines. Carefully handcrafted piece by piece, in Japan this type of art is recognized as Yosegi-Mokuzougan or joined wood block construction. It is traditionally two-dimensional in form but Nakagawa creates three-dimensional artistic toys. Through the use of old woods to create these futuristic figures, Nakagawa is able to connect the past with the future in a subtle but imaginative way.
Most of his works are exhibited in galleries and sold as one-offs. In fact, he is currently showing at Gallery Mitate in Tokyo through 19 October 2008. Although Nakagawa prefers that anyone interested in buying a piece see it in person first, you can inquire about purchasing his Take-G block sets by contacting his brother (who speaks better english) at itchyshin [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] nz. Also be sure to check Takeji Nakagawa's site and blog for more info and a peek at the process.
Gallery Mitate
3-16-28 Nishiazabu Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan map
tel. +81 03 3479 3842
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