Nori Morimoto MInimalist Carved Wood Sculpture Relief Woodwork Carving Panel, 1998

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Carved wood wall hanging. With mounting brace in back. Hand signed and dated '98 on side. Dimensions: H 17.5" x … Read more Carved wood wall hanging. With mounting brace in back. Hand signed and dated '98 on side. Dimensions: H 17.5" x W 19.25"

Nori Morimoto (Chinese born, Japanese-American artist)
Born in 1931 in Manchuria, China, as a native Japanese, Morimoto grew up in a post-war Japan where he was surrounded by American G.I.s. Idolizing their power and swagger as a young teen, Morimoto became fascinated by these mysterious men and their paraphernalia. In particular, he was enchanted by the graphic quality of the Lucky Strike logo; no matter how the box was turned or flipped, it was immediately recognizable. This led to an obsession with the idea of becoming a graphic designer who could create such universal icons. he helped his father build a house using native pine and spruce found in the hillside hamlet of Shikoku, Japan at age 16,
Morimoto pursued this dream in 1954 when he moved to Tokyo to work in graphic design. In the 1960s, he decided to venture internationally to New York City, with his wife Noriko. For the next ten years, Morimoto worked at the Herbert Reade Design Studio. While in New York, Morimoto met and befriended many other prominent Japanese artists such as Isamu Noguchi and Genichiro Inokuma, as well as George Nakashima. Morimoto eventually became an apprentice to Inokuma, and ultimately it was Noguchi who encouraged him to pursue sculpture over graphic design.
He moved to the suburbs in Long Island where he not only raised his family, but also opened up one of the first Japanese restaurants on in the 1970s, which became a favorite hideout for celebrities. Years later, Morimoto decided to finally pursue his dreams of sculpture and wood making. He left his Long Island home in 1987 and bought a cabin in Waterbury, Vermont, where he began creating most of his woodworking art, design, and artisan carpenter furniture pieces largely in isolation, using his natural surroundings for inspiration and local resources such as native trees to Vermont including Ash, Cherry, Hard Maple, Bird’s Eye Maple, Tiger Maple and Burl Walnut. He exhibited these pieces periodically, at local university galleries in Vermont and in Japan, but with little contact with the bustling New York art world he once knew. Although he received selective commissions, such as creating custom light sconces for the NOBU restaurant, he remained fairly private about his practice. See less