Flower Planet Toronto - Freestyle Ikebana Workshop

Ikebana is an art form dating back over half a millennia. While codified in Japan, its circuitous origins lie in Buddhist and Hindu traditions as offerings to a variety of metaphysical beings. Its transient nature has the practice predominantly disseminated through classroom environments and printed matter. This slippery material form, at certain points meant to depict otherworldly beauty approximate to what one sees upon entering Nirvana, has evolved greatly over the centuries as a result of economic shifts, changing hegemonic structures, international trade, advancements in horticultural sciences and metalworking technologies, the introduction of Modernism, war, among other forces, still.

After centuries of rule-based and diagrammatic arrangements, the early 20th century saw the introduction of “freestyle" ikebana, an approach that liberally mixes tradition with idiosyncratic impulses. This new offshoot, only taking hold mid-century, helped lay the groundwork for developments in the practice that defined the avant-garde, post-avant-garde, and contemporary modes of arranging, and introduced a wide set of material and philosophical concerns with the rapidly changing medium. With the temporal nature of the medium limiting physical widespread exhibition, and international book distribution on the practice slowing from the 1970s onwards – arguably at the medium’s peak – there’s little contemporary understanding or availability of just what sort of evolutions were taking place.

This three-hour introductory workshop helps to bridge this gap. With a historical overview opening the gathering, participants are able to initiate themselves and try their hand in this newer approach to the medium.

Duration: Approximately 3 hours

is an artist, writer, and ikebana practitioner who continues Flower Planet, a studio founded by their teacher Kosen Ohtsubo, a pivotal figure in the avant-garde ikebana movement since the 1970s. The studio holds lectures and workshops, and produces writings and exhibitions on various elements of ikebana from antiquity to the present.

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Host or Publisher Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography