Hideoho Tanaka

Hideho Tanaka is an amazing Japanese fiber artist who has been working in the field since the early 1970s. Tanaka studied industrial art and design at Tokyo’s Musashino Art University. Interestingly, already fifty years ago, in 1972, the artist was teaching art while partaking in both solo and group exhibitions.

Tanaka says that he has always worked hard to nurture young artists; he wants the younger generation to think “outside the box” with both the materials they use and the art they produce.

Tanaka’s most ambitious pieces is from 2009; it is a large-scale elliptical wall hanging, titled “Vanishing and Emerging Wall.” The stunning piece is “woven” from ink-lined paper squares. Courtesy of an article with Alexandra Zagalsky for 1st Dibs, “Intricately crafted from ink-lined squares of paper, it is a kind of ode to the natural weight, thickness and movement of the cotton, flax and paper fibers from which the panels are made, emphasizing the material’s natural flow so that the piece seems to have a life of its own.”

The end result is striking in that the textile piece is rippled and lightweight while also strong with geometric lines that appear to be woven together. The parallel and perpendicular lines provide a concise framework.

For the past fifty years, Tanaka has been working in the medium of fiber arts. He credits his longevity and continued creativity to a life force known as tariki. Meaning “other power,” tariki continues to inspire the 81-year-old Japanese artist. Tanaka’s educational experiences explains his precise approach and formal method of assembly.

The artist uses both natural and industrial materials in his works; among which are soft cloth, wood threads, paper fibers, and stainless-steel threads. Explaining the methodology behind his projects, Takata says, “More conceptual is his take on time, which he sees as an agent of change, guiding his aesthetic choices and serving as the root energy of his preferred materials.”

Even though it is fiber, there is a specific sculptural sense to Tanaka’s art. While light in weight, they provide an impressive presence. The smaller pieces that Tanaka produces typically employ smaller objects where layers of thin wire are loosely bound. Tanaka is a master at opposites which he produces via a couple of ways: sometimes, light colored fibers are used and at other times, the fibers are coated with paper pulp; contrasts are further achieved between stiff wire and the short pieces of flexible fiber: the traditional wire and pulp in freeform.

It has been said that Tanaka’s pieces (courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art), “deals with both philosophical and metaphysical ideas, and he often endeavors to connect the realm of the physical world with unseen spiritual planes. He attempts to bridge this gap through forms that suggest the frailty and transience of the human experience. The medium of fiber is versatile and allows Tanaka creative freedom.”

The founders of Browngrotta, Rhonda Brown and Tom Grotta are pioneers in the fiber art gallery world. They have been working with Tanaka for many years. About the artist, the pair told 1st Dibs, “Vanishing and Emerging Wall” is a particularly striking work,” say the gallerists, who started dealing in fiber art more than 30 years ago, long before it was recognized as a genre outside the craft category. The layered and pieced paper gives it remarkable substance, yet it hangs with the sense of fabric. Its carefully worked horizontal and vertical ink lines create a code that demands to be read.”