Chado, Karen LaMonte (born 1967)

This cast-glass sculpture represents a life-size kimono that seems to embody memories. Artist Karen LaMonte has created a shell that signifies the absent figure and the clothing from which the translucent glass gains its form. Chado is part of a series of cast kimonos that LaMonte created in glass, bronze, and porcelain as a result of a seven-month research fellowship spent in Kyoto, Japan, in 2007. LaMonte spent four years making the kimono sculptures. She studied kimonos in every possible way, from formal ceremonial uses, to making one and wearing it herself. Chado draws its name from the Japanese tea ceremony, and the sculpture portrays a kneeling Geisha in the act of offering tea. The artist wanted to convey the sensitivity of a Buddhist society to all that is ephemeral, creating an almost melancholic sense of beauty.