SPANISH BOOK REVIEWS

Jesủs Quintas Bermủdez, Josẻ Antonio de Frutes Martin, and Antonio Rojo Fajardo, eds. 2023.

Suseki: Arte e la Naturuleza

146 pages, softcover, privately published by editors. No ISBN. 

 

An exceptional exhibition of viewing stones from 10 countries was held in Valladolid, a municipality North of Madrid, Spain, on March 4-5,  2023. This display of 100 stones, half from Spain, was organized and staged by the three editors of the limited-edition catalog that documented this major exhibition. The type of stones displayed and this catalog was strongly influenced by the Japanese tradition of Suiseki. The format of this volume is based on the books published to document the annual Japan Suiseki Exhibition held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.


Twenty exhibitors participated in this event featuring stones collected in Spain. Thirty-three stones were included from neighboring Italy, three from Switzerland, and two from France. One of the great features of this exhibit is that only five stones were from non-European countries. Another feature that contributed to this fine exhibition is the quality of the rocks and how they were displayed. While most daiza used in the show was influenced by the Japanese tradition, it was good to see several contemporary and non-Japanese carved wood bases. The suiban were mostly ceramic or bronze trays, although it was refreshing to see two wood trays.


This book has excellent photographs of each display item. It is a high-quality publication that matches the corresponding high quality of the stones and how they were exhibited. I found the assignment of gender to the stones curious. Referring to the stones as “she” throughout the book is a significant departure from the Japanese tradition as gender assignment is not used in the Japanese language.


Rating: Excellent; an important and valuable publication documenting primarily quality European stones, especially ones from Spain.

Bonardi, Alejandro M 2017

Suiseki, El Arte de contemplar piedras paisaje

Rating: Excellent, a great introduction to Japanese style suiseki for Spanish-reading audiences
Idearte Grafica. Santiago del Estero, Argentina. 147 pp. ISBN: 978-987-4194-19-0. $34

This new introduction to suiseki—in Spanish by Argentine stone enthusiast Alejandro Bonardi—will stimulate stone appreciation throughout Latin America. Bonardi writes with great enthusiasm and feeling throughout the book’s five chapters. The introductory chapter provides information about the origin and evolution of suiseki. The sections on the spirit of stones and the art of suggestion demonstrate that the author has a good understanding of suiseki. The next two chapters focus on how to build your own suiseki collection and how to orient your stones for display. The fourth chapter is devoted to procedures and general aspects of hand-carved wood bases (diaza). This includes a nice section on micro suiseki, a subject that is often overlooked in other books. Bonardi’s treatment of displaying stones in ceramic and metal trays is minimal. The final chapter, The Literary Corner, contains stone-related poems by Bonardi and his friends. A complete list of the sources of the photographs and a bibliography of the references used in compiling this book is also given, much to the credit of Bonardi. He is truly a serious student of the art of stone appreciation.

Suseiki is based primarily on his understanding of modern Japanese concept of stone appreciation with little evidence of influence from Chinese practices. Bonardi is an advocate of maintaining a stone’s original aspect as nature gave it, and promotes the use of authentic stones rather than ones than have been manipulated. This paperback edition is well-illustrated and the design and layout make for easy reading.

Quintas, J. 2010

Suiseki: qseki 2009

Rating: very good, an important contribution, especial for Spanish reading audiences
Self-published. Madrid, Spain. 88 pages. ISBN: 978-84-614-3429-9. 25 Euros when published

The author, Jesus Quintas, a Spanish stone connoisseur, is a leader in the European stone appreciation community. After collecting stones for twenty years, Quintas published this book to show others some of the stones in his collection. It is a catalog of the displays he developed over a year (2009). Stones from Japan, California, Italy, and Spain including the Canary Islands. He even includes a convincing stone made from cement-like material but closely resemble a Japanese style stone. Thirty-three stones are illustrated in this book. Each stone has commentary in Spanish and English.

Suseki qseki 2009 is an attractive volume with a pleasing format. Quintas often provides his opinion on aspects of each stone. This is helpful and allows readers to understand what he sees in each stone and why it is important to him.
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