Arranging flowers in glass vases is now commonplace, but until the early years of the Showa Era (1926–1989), flowers were generally displayed in pottery or cast metal vessels, or in bamboo baskets. During this period, Iwata ambitiously set about making glass vases, establishing a new kind of partnership with ikebana practitioners. In 1936 he jointly held an exhibition with Teshigahara Sofu of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. Their attempt to show the roots of the plants by using clear glass vases was greeted with surprise. This work has a transparent brown glass neck dotted with air bubbles that stands up straight from a base of red opaque glass. Iwata’s consideration of how vases bring together flowers with glass eventually led him to experiment with lighting and the design of spaces where they would be installed.
(HASEGAWA Tamao)
Arranging flowers in glass vases is now commonplace, but until the early years of the Showa Era (1926–1989), flowers were generally displayed in pottery or cast metal vessels, or in bamboo baskets. During this period, Iwata ambitiously set about making glass vases, establishing a new kind of partnership with ikebana practitioners. In 1936 he jointly held an exhibition with Teshigahara Sofu of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. Their attempt to show the roots of the plants by using clear glass vases was greeted with surprise. This work has a transparent brown glass neck dotted with air bubbles that stands up straight from a base of red opaque glass. Iwata’s consideration of how vases bring together flowers with glass eventually led him to experiment with lighting and the design of spaces where they would be installed.
(HASEGAWA Tamao)