Akiyo SAKUMA

I would like to compliment the organizers of the International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa for holding this internationally-renowned exhibition for so many years. It has now been 35 years since the first exhibition was held.

I am full of admiration for the organizer as well as all concerned for their enthusiasm and efforts.

I participated in the Preliminary Assessment as a juror of the Panel this year as well as the year before. The devices for viewing the digital images have been updated and the quality of the submission images have been much better. As a result, the assessment environment in general has been improved. However, the jurors still have difficulty in judging the works by merely examining the images within a limited time.

First, I concentrated on looking at the images. Then I assessed each work by checking its technique and inspiration. As a whole, I came across some works which have reached a high degree of perfection. I could tell the artists’ sincere attitude, spirit of inquiry and penetration into the material, with an expression backed up by honed techniques. Above all, glass artists in Japan could reveal certain trends, and I came across quite a few excellent works submitted by Japanese artists. The works with a strong impact as well as the works created with original techniques or original approaches to the material received more votes. On the other hand, the works with novel and unique inspiration did not receive votes if they appeared unsubstantial.

At present, the submitted works are mainly unfunctional or objets. If the exhibition aims at diversity as the purpose of the exhibition – “from daily utensils to new artistic expressions” – I hope more varied types of works will be submitted. I wonder whether this will make the exhibition richer or more chaotic. As a result of this, I would imagine that the exhibition could go beyond our imagination and become even more interesting.

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