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COPENHAGEN, THE CITY WITH THE HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIAN RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

The biggest city in Scandinavia, Copenhagen is a smaller city than expected.
Walking along Stroget street which we cannot find in map for Kongens Nytorv Circus, I can find the roof of a steeple in the medieval Renaissance style with bronze luster, contrast well with Scandinavian unique, dark, cloudy, low sky.

Royal Art Academy,Charlottenborg with medieval image, which has produced many famous Danish artists, reminds me of the state of affairs of 300 years ago even today.

MALTI-ARTIST HUMMING AROUND THE WORLD,
"BJORN WIINBLAD"

The title of the article featuring Mr.Bjorn Wiinblad in Scanorama, the magazine of Scandinavian Airlines was strongly impressive. "In wakeful time, Bjorn Wiinblad is over 100 years old. He thrives on the challenge provided by shifting from one medium to another." It is a praise on the versatile and highly successful Danish artist.

Mr.Bjorn Wiinblad hums around the word; tapestries exhibition in Sydny, ceramics and porcelains exhibition in London, and musical posters exhibition in New York. Mr.Guy Badse, his manager seems to be very troubled about adjusting his schedule.

One day in Feburary, it was freezing cold, and I got dead drunk with Mr.Bjorn Wiinblad and Mr.Guy Badse, his good partner in a melancholy atmosphere of flames trembling over the candlesticks in Restrant Wiinblad, then we agreed to drink again in Mr.Bjorn Wiinblad's house. I seemed to be the first Japanese who visited his house, which loocked as if it had been Bjorn Wiinblad's museum itself, in Pistolstraede street in the surburb of Copenhagen. I was only surprised at and quite excited by his ceramics, tablecloths, greeting cards, original posters, and any other creations displayed casually. Mr.Bjorn Wiinblad's sharp eyes staying right on you, and his eyes of embrace when he touches his own works. I can say it would be my most precious experience to meet this gifted artist.

The world of fantasia expressed by Mr.Bjorn Wiinblad seemed to look for dreams and tranquility of mind.

HISTRIAN AND GENIUS IN GOLD WORK,
ARJE GRIEGST

Arje Griegst, born as a son of goldsmith artist Baruch Griegst and graduated Royal Academy of Art, established his immortal status with hair diadem for her Majesty Queen Margrethe �U of Denmark finished by him in 1976.
Arje's glass of Royal Copenhagen Crystal is admired by the collectors all over the world, and his goldwork brooch with opals is always set the goal for, by young artists in this line all over the world owing to his elaborate gold engraving technique and its powerful impact.

He often had his individual exhibition at the famous museums in New York, London, and Paris. He is settled with his family in Paris though he is Danish. I remember it was a freezing morning in December that I have walked around to look in art gallerys in and around Montmartre with him. He said, "I like the stream of La Seine in the morning haze around here," and I heard he often sketched here. Arje, who always talks about the art quietly in a gentle manner, creates strong, sharp works in which we can find dynamic expressions by a man of power everywhere. This may be the reason why he is called a genius in goldwork. In fact, I could find his sharp eyes in a tense atmosphere that he gave his staffs instructions of forming, working on production of 3m big fountain in the subject of 7 oceans in the world and a big seashell in his studio and workshop in Pietrasanta, Italy.

Arje says, "the fountain goes back to the source of Italian Renaissance sculpture." One day, conducted around Carlsberg Museum hearing his comments, I found that he was so clear-headed and had such good a grasp of historical facts that I saw a historian in Arje Griegst.

THE GREAT MASTER OF BRONZE,
LEIF JENSEN

On 1 February, 1996, Mr.Leif Jensen's bronze foundry, Broncest oberiet celebrated its 25 years jubilee. In the largest bronze foundry in Scandinavia with his wife Jytte, who is his good adviser as well, his son Peter, his daughter Pia, and the sculptor Aage Leif Nielsen, and so on, 200 artists gathered from all over Europe to celebrate his todays success.

Mr.Bjorn Wiinblad, Mr.Guy Badse, the president of Copenhagen University, Ms.Lissy Bosen, Mr.John Duke, and any other famous artists have a pleasant chat on Mr.Leif Jensen's casting skill highly valued. His daughter Pia Jensen, the active textile designer, though she was quite busy in escorting the guests, introduced me, who did not know what to do with myself, to them politely.

At the center table with so many gifts piled mountain high, congratulatory telegrams from various countries in the world were announced, of which one from Mr.Miyajima, chairman of Hibiya-kadan Floral Co.,Ltd.,Japan, "I sincerely wish you luck, Mr.Leif Jensen, like a Scandinavian big tree with annual rings strongly grown-up." arose a storm of applause, which is fresh in my memory.

Lief Jensen is said to be the most excellent existing caster that Denmark has ever produced, and it would be natural, considering his achievement of the works by Bent Sorensen, Mogens Moller, Arje Griegst, and any other renowned artists, and Andersen's Little Mermaid sculpture. He is a caster worth calling the great master of bronze, for hi is able to restore with his own skill even a sculpture of 300 years old to its original state in the same manner as those days.

IMAGINATIVE ARTIST,
JOHN DUKE

John Duke is a quite free and unrestrained painter. His style is mostly challenging to infinity created by his imagination, and to be honest, it is almost hard for me to understand. What arouses my interest in John's painting is the light touch of color coordination by his painting brush and his rich inspiration rather than what is called his nonfigurative expression.

John says that Walt Disney made him choose the painting life when he was 12 years old, then he emigrated to Canada at the age of 28, moving from Toronto to Calgary and Chicago for the next 12 years, at last settled down to the world of arts in Denmark at the age of 40.

Duke's unique, exciting color scheme of rich colors arouses my various imagination, and speaking in a modern manner, I must say it is pastel touch or significant design as if it were spread out in the nature gradually.

"Takuma, I won't stick to the material or painting. I have created a symbol tower in bronze and space monument with steel and stone arranged. I will also design sportwear." The chat party between beer lovers, which I made a rule on my visit Copenhagen, is always endless at the bar in Radisson SAS Royal Hotel.

REUNION WITH LIN UTZON IN HELSINGOR

When I leave Denmark for Japan, I almost always reach Copenhagen airport one hour earlier. then, I walk up and down twice the tooling gate of 30m in front of the porcelain mural at Pier B in the International Terminal so that I can see 6 murals (each height 3m x width 5m) of the light in platina by Ms.Lin Utzon titled "Scandinavian light" and fired in Royal Copenhagen to be staged in a space after long meditation.

Lin, the daughter of the brilliant architect Jorn Utzon widely knowns as the designer of the Sydney Opera House, the symbol of Australia, has risen to No.1 contemporary artist in the field of porcelain and ceramic arts not less popular than her father with her creative instincts rather than riding on the reputation of him.

One day in July. I visited her creative spot in Helsingor by a car of her son who had just returned from Australia. 5 columns ( each diameter 1.5m x height 10m ) standing up in the sky stares at Kronborg Castle. Lin in overall Jeans and her staffs are skillfully working on the countless triangle tiles. She smiled at me who was busy taking a snap, with her fingers creating an art precisely as if they had touched the keys of the piano.

In her studio in Helsingor, her dazzling platina ware and design art of approximately No.200 size are displayed casually and closely. "takuma, do you like this painting? Would you like to take it to Japan?" Listening to her playing a piano with her long and slender fingers and her blond hair swinging, and talking about Australia, night has fallen with a group of yacht cruising in the Oresund Straits before we are aware of it.