Andrew Juniper

Zen monks lead a simple and austere life constantly aware of their mortality. Wabi sabi art is a distillation of their humble efforts to try and express, in a physical form, their love of life balanced against the sense of serene sadness that is life's inevitably passing. As the artistic mouthpiece of the Zen movement, wabi sabi art embodies the lives of the monks and is built on the precepts of simplicity, humility, restraint, naturalness, joy, and melancholy as well as defining elements of impermanence. Wabi sabi art challenges us to unlearn our views of beauty and to rediscover the intimate beauty to be found in the smallest details of nature's artistry.

The message of wabi sabi, in view of the ever-encroaching materiality of Western society, is as relevant today as it was in thirteenth-century Japan. This ancient approach to life, which breathes new meaning into both the visual and decorative arts, is ambivalent toward modern Western culture, preferring instead a philosophy and design ethos more consistent with our flaws and organic nature. This consistency between philosophy and design principles means that the message of wabi sabi still has relevance for many aspects of modern life.