Heads

Jun Kaneko first thought about experimenting with the human head as a sculptural form quite early in his career, but only began making them in 1993. He has long had an interest in the human figure as an abstract shape. Kaneko believes that seeing something familiar shrinks the distance between observer and object. He says, “There are lots of possibilities to the problem of abstract form and the head. To shrink the distance between viewer and object by using a realistic form or head interests me greatly. I started making heads as a pair, because it gives me the opportunity to create a different visual power. The space between the two in the pair is the important element.”

For Kaneko, his Heads present an entirely different challenge from the naturalistic shapes of his Dangos and simple geometry of his Slabs and Ovals, because their familiar form recalls a vast array of traditions, meanings, and associations. He therefore creates them as neutral forms, streamlined to their essential features, with closed eyes and mute expressions. The Heads have been noted for their air of weighty tranquility. Enigmatic yet accessible, Kaneko’s Heads are among the most celebrated works in his oeuvre.