By Richard Turner

Display furniture for viewing stones in China, Korea, and Japan was adapted from existing sources. Ornately carved bases and stands for antiques, serving trays, low tables and the like were the models that stone collectors modified to suit their needs. This sculpture is inspired by the iconic furniture of mid-century modern designer George Nelson. It combines the suiban with the supporting table into a single form. The sand of a suiban, which often symbolizes water, is here replaced by wood that has been carved by a computer-guided device into a wave-like pattern. Just as a traditional Japanese style daiza might frame an American Eel River stone in a way that encourages the viewer to imagine a mountain range in Japan, so the sleek contemporary tray and rippling mahogany sea advocates for considering the waxed stone from Guangxi province, China, as an offshore rock outcropping one might glimpse driving along California’s Pacific Coast Highway on a sunny afternoon. The title of this piece references the well-known 16th century Chinese novel of the same name.