Densaburou Oku
Japanese, b. 1945
Fish Bones, 1993
Glass and metal
Artist Densaburou Oku combines glass with steel or found objects to create his fish skeleton sculptures. Oku values glass for its malleable qualities, likening hot glass to chewing gum in the way an artist can stretch and shape it. When discussing his art and its central themes of life and death, Oku stated, “everything moves. In life and death, everything comes together.” In this way, the movement of hot glass mimics the cycle of life and death central to Oku’s art.
Gift of Lisa Jan Rose and Kenneth L. Koenig, MD and Sara Jane Rose and Jay Shanker, 2021
Visual Description: Standing at six and a half feet tall is a glass and metal sculpture of a fish. The sculpture’s base is the dark brown head of the fish, made of metal. Extending upward from the head are the white glass bones of the fish, stacked vertebrae with ribs extending out from both sides. As the sculpture moves upward, the ribs become smaller and end with the fish’s tail bone, extending up in a v-shape.
