Benjamin
Gordon
was born in 1968 in Palo Alto, California. He holds a rare position in the field of folding screen art, as he is both painter and craftsman. In a tradition where these roles are typically divided between two individuals, Gordon unites them within a single creative practice.
Combining aesthetic elements from both Eastern and Western traditions, he brings renewed vitality to an art form that has remained largely unchanged for over five centuries. His paintings challenge the boundary between the real and the abstract, placing recognizable forms alongside imagined ones, guiding the viewer from the everyday world toward a more mysterious realm. What first appears as a bold, direct image reveals, upon closer examination, fine layers of detail and a scintillating interplay of color and light.
Gordon’s use of unconventional textiles to adorn the wooden frames distinguishes his work within the historical development of byōbu. Each screen is the result of many hundreds of hours of dedicated labor. Gordon constructs every frame by hand, using traditional Japanese joinery techniques. From the careful selection of wood to the precise application of paper hinges, each step reflects deep understanding of material and structure, ensuring that each screen will endure and be appreciated for generations to come.
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.