Day Five: Snow in Kyoto . . .

Well, to be honest, the very lightest of scatterings of flakes, on a day when I heard the UCA campus at Farnham was closed.

Continuing the theme of contrast, I was privileged to return, after a gap of perhaps 15 years or more, to the small but powerful exhibition space of gallerygallery (the Kyoto International Contemporary Textile Art Center), curated by Director Keiko Kawashima. An interlockinmg series of works by Suzumi Noda elegantly addressed the space, with cloths punctuated with repeated holes. She says this work induces 'flexible feelings', the holes perhaps letting air, scent and ideas pass seamlessly through. 'I always want to feel the flow of air in my mind and body'.

Suzumi Moma solo exhibition in gallerygallery, Kyoto

A journey then out of Kyoto centre to the Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art. Asako Takenaka, the Assistant Curator kindly made a tour of this contrasting site: the Tudor Gothic villa surrounded by natural landscape and the rigorous, refined contrast of Tadao Ando's polished concrete extensions sitting slimly and poised against the traditional architecture. I have been thinking about writing on Bernard Leach's tiles, so it was very exciting to find two large companion panels - one by Hamada - one by Leach side by side, made at Mashiko in 1961.

‘Flexible Idea Brain’ sign