素脚詞

Ikki Miyake - Suashi-Kotoba (Fascination of Legs) (Lot 1368), was inspired by female legs and shows the perfect human proportions and aesthetic body shape. As the first completed work out of a series of five pieces, Suashi-Kotoba (Fascination of Legs) reveals the original artistic inspiration of Miyake for this series. Different from other two pieces from the series, Suashi-Kotoba was carved out of Torreya, a precious and rare wood. Ikki Miyake recalled that he knew Torreya was the type of wood needed to present the elegant, gentle and slender female form. Torreya, also known as Torreya grandis, has a distinctive flavor that is considered a precious medium and has been used to carve Buddha sculpture in the early Heian Period in Japan. With great skill, Miyake allows the unique texture of trees becomes the pattern of the foot while the original beige color of the Torreya wood, naturally represents the color and smoothness of Asian women's skin.

To highlight the shape of the legs and strengthening the expressiveness of the sculpture, Miyake deliberately hides the figure's arms and simplistically carves the form from the shoulders to the waist. The simple contour is reminiscent of the cross-legged statue - Pindola Bharadvaja of the sixteen arhats in Todai-ji Temple. Traditional Japanese Buddhist sculptures focus on the mercy face and peaceful gesture showing the meditation state of oneself. Here, Miyake deliberately extend the length of toes without damaging the proportion of foot, thigh and calf. The relaxed posture of Suashi-Kotoba (Fascination of Legs) displays Miyake's balanced and tranquil mind when working. The artwork of Miyake beautifully exemplifies the remarkable thoughts of Eastern aesthetic.