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“Trains carry people with stories, dreams, and hopes toward the future", Asagi Maeda describes. This necklace is in the form of a train with nine cars with a driver at each end. Each compartment represents a different time of the day and scene. Growing up in Tokyo, Asagi had observed urban life through train windows since her early childhood. Intrigued by the idea that a town is collections of “boxes” containing memories and stories, such as houses, apartments, and office buildings, Asagi is inspired by the desire to detail ordinary events in miniature. Her work always includes a textual element describing the scene; here, the artist has engraved on the underside of the carriages, 6.00 (The first train), 8.00 (Rush hour), 10.00 (School trip), 12.00 (Gentle breeze), 14.00 (Sunshine), 16.00 (Kindness), 18.00 (Beautiful sunset), 20.00 (Emergency break), 22.00 (Night of a city), 24.00 (The last train), and 02.00 (The end of the day).
A Train Story necklace
Asagi Maeda (Japanese, born 1977)
Japanese
2008
Medium/Technique
Sterling silver, gold (18k), synthetic resin
Dimensions
Length 59 cm
Credit Line
Gift of Tuan Lee
Accession Number2019.565
CollectionsJewelry, Asia, Contemporary Art
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment
“Trains carry people with stories, dreams, and hopes toward the future", Asagi Maeda describes. This necklace is in the form of a train with nine cars with a driver at each end. Each compartment represents a different time of the day and scene. Growing up in Tokyo, Asagi had observed urban life through train windows since her early childhood. Intrigued by the idea that a town is collections of “boxes” containing memories and stories, such as houses, apartments, and office buildings, Asagi is inspired by the desire to detail ordinary events in miniature. Her work always includes a textual element describing the scene; here, the artist has engraved on the underside of the carriages, 6.00 (The first train), 8.00 (Rush hour), 10.00 (School trip), 12.00 (Gentle breeze), 14.00 (Sunshine), 16.00 (Kindness), 18.00 (Beautiful sunset), 20.00 (Emergency break), 22.00 (Night of a city), 24.00 (The last train), and 02.00 (The end of the day).
DescriptionEach silver and plastic link on this necklace represents a car of a train at different times of the day. Gold figurines represent passengers.
Marks
Signed and dated on the last link, 18.4.08, Asaga, .925, 18K
ProvenanceAfter 2008, sold by Charon Kransen and Mobillia Gallery at SOFA, New York, Gallery Marzee and Gallerie Ra at Collect International Art Fair for Modern Craft and Design, London, or another gallery in London to Tuan Lee, Republic of Singapore and London, England [see note]; 2019, gift of Tuan Lee to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 24, 2019)
NOTE:
Ms. Lee formed her collection of late-twentieth and twenty-first century jewelry, including this object, through purchases from dealers and designers in New York and London.
NOTE:
Ms. Lee formed her collection of late-twentieth and twenty-first century jewelry, including this object, through purchases from dealers and designers in New York and London.
Copyright© Asagi Maeda