Stone Riddle

Born in Nagasaki and committed to the traditional arts of Japan, sculptor Masayuki Nagare cites Zen Buddhism and Shintoism as major influences on his work. Of particular importance for him is the principle of yin-yang, the belief that an opposition of male and female forces held in harmonious tension animates the world. This sense of interconnected opposites is evident in Stone Riddle in the contrast between the smooth planes of the horizontal stone and the rough chisel marks on its base. Nagare has termed this contrast warehada, “broken texture,” and sees it as a way to bring out the essence of each surface.