Aaron Scythe: Basara: the beauty of excess

Gallery LNL is proud to present Basara: the beauty of excess, an exhibition featuring  new works by  Aaron Scythe. Scythe's work stands at the confluence of rigorous technical mastery and deeply personal expression, forging a unique path within contemporary ceramics. Born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1971, Scythe's early fascination with ceramics led him on a transformative journey to Japan, where he spent over 17 years developing his practice. A pivotal moment in his artistic development was his apprenticeship with the master ceramicist Ryoji Koie, who profoundly impacted Scythe's approach to clay. 

At the heart of this exhibition is Scythe's contemporary reimagining of the Yobitisugi (borrowed-patches) technique. A delicate process of patching together mismatched porcelain and stoneware shards, Scythe creates dynamic, tessellated surfaces that challenge traditional notions of cohesion and uniformity.  This meticulous deconstruction and reconstruction not only alludes to the Japanese art of kintsugi, celebrating repair and the beauty of age, but also acts as a deliberate act of artistic disruption, resulting in surfaces that are both visually arresting and tactilely engaging. 

Layered onto these fractured forms is Scythe's masterful draftsmanship, where traditional Japanese and Māori motifs converge with contemporary imagery, producing a striking visual interplay between past and present, East and West. This synthesis embodies the philosophy of Basara- a medieval Japanese aesthetic of excess, flamboyance, and defiance of convention. Through his bold compositions and tactile surfaces, Scythe channels Basara's radical energy, transforming clay into a medium of cultural and personal expression that transcends boundaries.

Basara: the beauty of excess, underscores Scythe's relentless pursuit of innovation within the ceramic medium. His works are not merely objects, but tangible expressions of a life lived across cultures, a testament to the beauty found in imperfection, and a continuous dialogue between the artist, the material, and the world around him.

"Over the many years of making, my exuberance for crafting the perfect pot has dwindled. I find the accidental mistakes that move towards something new to be more interesting and joyous. Yes, I have a clear idea of what I call beauty or will accept as beautiful, and this has been one of my main concerns in my working life. I have never really been interested in a refined beauty, and the more pots that I make in my life, the more I am interested in an imperfect beauty. Perhaps this is slightly incorrect-can I dare say I have more of an understanding of that imperfect beauty? An improvised knowing, a madness, that dance of Basara."

-- Aaron Scythe