• Brent Comber, a great admirer of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, takes inspiration from this highly disciplined approach to sculpting with florals.

  • Benches, carved out of solid Douglas fir, are configured so that each is turned to face in a different direction.

  • Brent Comber’s Ikebana collection is defined by the simplicity of a single graceful form and inspired by nature.

  • The Seika Console has two forms in solid steel finished with a rich dark patina, placed in opposing directions to provide a strong pedestal base.

  • Kozai Modern partner and resident stylist Hideki Shimizu’s ikebana creations complement Brent Comber’s newest collection.

  • Documentation of Brent Comber’s process is displayed on the gallery walls at Kozai Modern.

  • “According to certain rules that aim to achieve perfect harmony, beauty, and balance, the watery grain patterns, precisely placed knots, and graceful shadow lines convey the poetry in nature.” —Brent Comber

  • Ron Cromie’s Kozai Modern gallery takes its name from a woodworking term used by Japanese craftsmen to designate hardwoods—Kozai means “hard material” in Japanese.

Brent Comber’s Ikebana Collection

Poetic designs.

Brent Comber is an artist, furniture designer, and sculptor. It’s hard to categorize his work, but perhaps that’s his point. Comber’s wood pieces are sold in furniture stores and in art galleries, so it’s appropriate that his latest exhibition can be found just off Gallery Row in Vancouver’s South Granville neighbourhood at Kozai Modern, a boutique that features West Coast and Japanese studio furniture and artisan lighting. Comber’s newest collection of pieces—lineal solid wood tables and seating—is a riff on ikebana, the revered Japanese art of flower arranging. With an emphasis on shape, line, and form, Comber’s Ikebana line reflects the ancient practice’s highly disciplined use of proportion, balance, and harmony.

Photos by Joshua McVeity.

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April 8, 2014