Reaching, Japan

Reaching is a monumental bronze sculpture by artist Zenos Frudakis. Two 7-foot-high figures—one female and one male—reach toward one another, creating a dynamic visual dialogue.

In 1990, a second casting of Reaching was selected for the Third Rodin Grand Prize Exhibition at the Utsukushi-ga-hara Open-Air Museum in Japan. According to a January 24, 1990 letter from the Hakone Open-Air Museum, Reaching was selected as one of 28 finalists from 442 entries representing 31 countries for the exhibition. The sculpture subsequently received the Hakone Award and entered the museum's permanent collection.

The exhibition was part of an important international program established by the foundation of the Hakone Open-Air Museum to recognize and promote contemporary sculpture. Beginning in 1979, the program presented two alternating international grand prize exhibitions: the Henry Moore Grand Prize Exhibition, devoted to abstract sculpture, and the Kotaro Takamura Grand Prize Exhibition, focused on figurative and representational sculpture. The latter was later renamed the Rodin Grand Prize Exhibition in honor of French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

In 1983, the exhibition moved permanently to its sister museum the Utsukushi-ga-hara Open-Air Museum, whose expansive mountain setting provided an extraordinary environment for monumental sculpture. Situated on a high plateau, and surrounded by the snowcapped mountains of the Japan Alps—it was in this setting that Reaching was exhibited in 1990 and received the Hakone Award.

Following the exhibition, the sculpture entered the permanent collection of the Utsukushi-ga-hara Open-Air Museum, where it remains today.

Reaching has been realized in multiple castings, with works located in Indianapolis, Japan, and, soon, at Uncommon Ground in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Monumental Sculpture / Public Art
Size: Two 7-foot-high figures on 3-foot stainless steel poles
Media: Bronze
Installation: 1990
Location: Utsukushi-ga-hara Open Air Museum, Japan

Locations of Reaching Sculptures:

• Indianapolis, Indiana — Capital Center

• Utsukushi-ga-hara Open-Air Museum, Japan

• Edmond, Oklahoma — to be installed at Uncommon Ground

Collections:

• Permanent collection of the Utsukushi-ga-hara Open-Air Museum, Japan

• Additional castings in private collections

Related Sculpture
​Reaching Sculpture, Indianapolis Capital Center

Related Links
The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Letter | PDF
The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Japan
Utsukushi-ga-hara Open-Air Museum, Japan

In the Media
’The American Rodin’ in Our Backyard, Chestnut Hill Local | PDF