Ninna-ji

69 x 59 inches, oil paint on gesso, silver leaf, iwa enogu on gold leaf, lacquer on tiger wood and oriental wood veneer.

Nijo-jo

72 x 48 inches, oil paint, gold leaf, lacquer on oriental wood, mahogany and tiger wood veneer

Rokuen-ji

63 x 47.5 inches, oil paint on gesso, gold leaf

Screen with Bonsai

44 x 43 inches, oil paint, acrylic paint, iwa enogu on gold leaf and bronze powder. Lacquer on mahogany and rosewood veneer.

Screen with Lantern

46 x 60 inches, oil paint, acrylic paint, gold leaf, bronze and copper powder. Lacquer on holly, pine and cypress wood veneer. 

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These Japan inspired works combine and contrast styles, materials and techniques of the East with those of the West. I am married to a Japanese woman and I’ve been to Japan many times. These works reflect some of the humbling and exquisite things I have seen and learned as an outsider in Japan.

My works are have a little relief but are essentially flat.
The doorways and folding screens are constructed in forced perspective.
Whatever appears to be wood, is wood. Inlayed wood veneer (intarsia), flat pieces of wood veneer of different colors and values are cut, applied, sanded and lacquered. The woodwork is attached to and part of the same flat silhouette cut panel that is the folding screen, frame or doorway. The illusion of three dimensionality is further enhanced by the application of gold and silver leaf and bronze powder. Sheets of gold leaf are square and when uniformly applied next to each other they form a subtle but noticeable grid pattern. To create the illusion of depth, the sheets of metal leaf on these screens are individually cut and applied to correspond with the receding perspectival grid of each different metal leaf panel. Traditional Japanese mineral paint, iwa enogu is painted over the metal leaf as in Nihonga, traditional Japanese painting. The illusion of the landscape and buildings beyond are traditional western oil painting.
 

In his new "Japan Series," Minneapolis artist Ken Moylan again demonstrates his astonishing dexterity and craftsmanship with wood and paint. Since graduating from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1980, Moylan has perfected a unique style of marquetry that merges realistic landscapes with elaborate wood framing that creates the illusion of a vista viewed through a window or doorway. By carefully manipulating the wood's grain and stain, he suggests patterns of sun and shade, dawn and evening, and changing seasons.

His Japanese scenes depict many of the country's historic castles (Nijo, Nagoya), shrines (Kasuga Taisha) and temples (Daitokuji, Ginkakuji). Each is painted at a peak moment when a tower is framed by flaming maple leaves or moonlight glows off the opalescent walls of a castle and gleams in the waters of an ancient moat. Accented with gold leaf, or pain

ted with pigments made from ground oyster shells, Moylan's new work is beyond exquisite. It's been 10 years since he's exhibited in Minneapolis. Way too long.

Mary Abbe • Minneapolis Star Tribune

3D Artist, Artist, Craftsman, Gilder, Landscape Painting, Painted Objects, Painter, Photographer, Printmaker, Sculptor, Social Art, Woodworker

http://www.startribune.com/entertainme... 

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