DESCRIPTION : Titled 'Butterfly Mandala' and created with paper applied to wooden board, this contemporary Japanese art work traveled to Toronto in 1982 where it was exhibited at The Art Gallery at Harbourfront. The occasion was the exhibition of 200 contemporary Japanese artists' works. In the accompanying exhibition catalogue a very similar work by the same artist, Horii Takao, is pictured. This was very likely the pair to this mandala work. In this work the spiritual tradition of mandalas has been drawn upon though the artist has avoided the historically intricate and specific symbolic meaning in which they are steeped. Here a myriad of butterflies dance around the sun whilst lotus flowers gradually open their magnificent blossoms to catch the rays of morning sunshine. The lotus is one of the most poignant symbols of Buddhism. |