Divider: Sleeping Mountain

One of Murata’s largest works, this is his first sculpture to allude to scenery rather than to flora or fauna. The shape was inspired by the silhouette of a mountain in the vicinity of his home and the illusion that it floats at night when a crescent moon appears. Not only is this object an abstract sculpture, but it also serves as a tea utensil. It is one of two dividers, or kekkai (boundary markers), that are set up in traditional Japanese tea presentations to indicate the tea-making area in a large room or outdoor space.