Karen LaMonte
American, b. 1967
Chado, 2010
Cast glass
Artist Karen LaMonte created this cast glass sculpture of a kneeling kimono after a seven-month-long artist fellowship in Kyoto, Japan. While there, LaMonte studied the kimono, a floor-length robe with a cylindrical, bulky shape and long, square sleeves, and the culture that surrounds it. The work’s title, Chado, references the traditional Japanese tea ceremony where the garment would have been worn. The kimono defines how its wearer moves, directing one’s behavior while they wear it. Even when the body is absent, the kimono retains echoes of its wearer and acts like a second skin, making the ephemeral permanent.
Museum purchase from the Beaux Arts Society Fund for Acquisitions, 2012
Visual Description: This is a glass sculpture of a kimono, a Japanese robe-like garment with long, square sleeves and a cylindrical body. The sculpture is just over 3 feet tall, and the glass is semi-opaque. The kimono is belted around the waist and placed in a kneeling position as though it is being worn by a woman with her arms outstretched.
