Benjamin
Gordon
was born in Palo Alto, California in 1968. He is both a painter and a craftsman, making him unique among folding screen artists, as these functions are usually fulfilled by two persons: the painter and the artisan.
Fusing aesthetic elements from East and West, he adds his own contribution to an art form which has remained relatively unchanged for over 500 years.
In his paintings he refashions the distinction between real and abstract, juxtaposing the familiar with the imaginary, disguising the boundary where the worldly becomes the otherworldly. His work is characterized by bold images which upon closer inspection reveal layers of meticulous detail and scintillating interplay of color. His use of unconventional fabric to ornament the frame is unprecedented in the evolution of byōbu.
Each screen is the result of hundreds of hours of work. Using only hand tools and traditional joinery methods, Benjamin Gordon constructs the lightweight wood lattice frames for every screen himself. Each step – from selecting the wood to attaching the paper hinges – demands precision and thorough understanding of the materials, so that future generations will be able to equally admire each screen.
Byōbu
literally means “wind wall”:
屏 = wall 風 = wind
Hence the French word paravent, derived from Italian paravento (parare to shield + vento wind).
The line over the letter “ō” indicates a long “o” sound, e.g. Tōkyō. This is indicated in hiragana by adding the character for “u”, which is why byōbu is often written as byoubu.
屏 風
Traditional Japanese homes employed sliding screens (Fusuma) instead of interior walls to divide interior space. Within that space, byōbu are used both as decoration and as a screen, afterwards to be folded and put away. It was common to possess several byōbu, each displayed depending on the occasion.
Folding screens
in China (píngfēng) are constructed with solid wood (and often precious stones!), making them extremely heavy. On the other hand, the Japanese folding screen is light enough to be easily moved about the house.
In order to protect the painted surface, the screen folds in upon itself, leaving the unpainted back surface at both ends. Therefore, screens are always made with an even number of panels.