Iizuka Kunseki was a nephew of Iizuka Rokansai (1890-1958), and one of several apprentices of the Iizuka studio—including Rokansai’s elder brother Hochiku—who did not survive the years of war. It is hard to imagine today a family of such abundant talent. The Iizuka family was a school unto itself, one that in only a few decades made an immense creative exposition on the possibility in bamboo.

Kunseki’s known works are few, but what is available is evidence of a free-flowing artist who preferred pure colors and open spaces. He excelled in the creation of informal, organic works, those which according to Rokansai were the most difficult to master. In such a beautiful and versatile material, the quality of such pieces depends entirely on the clarity of the artist’s creative imagination.

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This work exemplifies such qualities: it has natural flow and clarity, beautiful color, and an open, organic complexity.