MIYA ANDO

ECOLOGICAL CALENDARS AND MICROSEASONS

This series of works focuses on alternative, nature-based systems of timekeeping. They reject abstract, linear, and hegemonic notions of time in favor of acute attention to, and engagement with, the natural world. Rooted in ecological observation, these calendars understand time as an interwoven field of relationships. Time emerges from the phenomena of a specific place and becomes perceptible through sustained observation.

The Japanese 72 microseasons calendar (shichijūni kō, 七十二候) is a significant cultural reference in my work. Originating in ancient Chinese lunisolar calendars and refined in seventeenth-century Kyoto, it divides the year into brief five-day intervals, each marked by a subtle natural phenomenon: migrating birds, the first blossoms, the stirring of insects. These events cultivate an awareness of impermanence and nature-based time. Over the past two decades, I have created numerous works engaging with this concept, including the Flower Atlas Calendar installation (2023), 72 Seasons paintings, printed calendars, and indigo depictions on wood and paper. My broader practice extends beyond this cycle to other natural timekeepers and alternative temporal frameworks.

Examples include Kumo (Cloud) Grid (2019), which chronicles twenty days of continuous sky observation; Evenings, May 1 to 15, which traces the gradual descent of twilight over two weeks; and Four Years Four Seasons (Mokume Gane), which follows seasonal changes across four solar cycles. Earlier works such as Night Yoru Grid (2013) and Tides (2011) explore the relationship between lunar cycles and ocean tides as natural timekeepers. Together, these works invite a slower, more attentive way of perceiving time. This perception is shaped by the fragile and fleeting patterns of the natural world.

(Left) 24 & 72 SEASONS BLUE SKY CALENDAR, 2024
Offset lithograph on paper, 75 pages, wood stand
8.25 x 4 x 1.5 in (20.95 x 10.16 x 3.81 cm)

(Right) 72 SEASONS IN PAINTINGS CALENDAR, 2025
Offset lithograph on paper, 75 pages, wood stand
8.25 x 4 x 1.5 in (20.95 x 10.16 x 3.81 cm)

FLOWER ATLAS CALENDAR, 2023
Printed Poly-Chiffon, Clear Acrylic Rods
696 x 597 x 2186 in (1767.84 x 1516.38 x 5552.44 cm)
Location: The Brookfield Place, New York, NY | Commissioned by The Brookfield Place New York Annual Arts Commission
Photo Credit :Brookfield Place New York. Photos by Fadi Kheir
Flower Atlas Calendar is a large scale public artwork by Miya Ando, commissioned for Brookfield Place in New York City and first exhibited in July 2023. The installation consists of 72 suspended chiffon banners, each representing one of the traditional Japanese kō (候), or micro seasons, from the 72 season lunisolar calendar. Across these banners, Ando maps 365 flowers, one for each day of the year, corresponding to blooms occurring somewhere on Earth, reimagining time through an ecological and phenological lens.

72 SEASONS’ MOONS, 2020
Micronized Pure Silver, Natural Indigo, Wood Panel
72 PIECES, 12 x 12 x 1 in (30.5 x 30.5 x 2.54 cm) EACH

24 SEKKI (SEASONS), 2020
Micronized Pure Silver, Natural Indigo, Wood Panel
24 PIECES, 12 x 12 x 1 in (30.5 x 30.5 x 2.54 cm) EACH

KUMO (CLOUD) GRID JUNE 2019 (20 DAYS OF OBSERVATION), 2019
Dye On Aluminum
20 PIECES, 16 x 16 x 1 in (40.64 x 40.64 x 2.54 cm) EACH

GINGA (SILVER RIVER / GALAXY) IN 24 SEKKI (SEASONS), 2019
Silkscreen, Micronized Pure Silver, Acrylic, Archival Cotton Rag
24 PIECES, 14 x 14 in (35.56 x 35.56 cm) EACH

72 SEASONS, 2019
Pigment, Urethane, Aluminum
72 PIECES, 12 x 12 x 1 in (30.5 x 30.5 x 2.54 cm) EACH

Mokume Gane (Wood Grain Metal) Gold Silver
2018
Silver Nitrate And Pigment On Wood Panel
36 x 48 x 1.5 in (91.44 x 121.92 x 3.81 cm)

EVENINGS (MAY 1-15 2017 SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA), 2017
Dye On Aluminum
15 PIECES, 12 x 12 x 1 in (30.5 x 30.5 x 2.54 cm) EACH

BLUE GREY KUMO (CLOUD) GRID, 3 HOURS , 2017
Dye On Aluminum
54 x 72 in (137.16 x 182.88 cm), 12 PANELS 18 X 18 IN

SHIKI (SEASONS 2 THE PAST 20 YEARS), 2015
Pigment, Dye, Urethane, Resin, Aluminum
80 PIECES, 12 x 12 in (30.48 x 30.48 cm) EACH

CLOUD GRID (OBSERVATION FROM 9:00 AM TO 9:56AM APRIL 14 2015, SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA), 2015
Dye On Aluminum
36 x 60 in (91.44 x 152.4 cm)

NIGHT YORU GRID, 2013
Hand-Dyed, Anodized Aluminum
12 PIECES, 12 x 12 in (30.48 x 30.48 cm) EACH

TIDES, 2011
Hand-Dyed, Anodized Aluminum
36 x 72 in (91.44 x 182.88 cm)
Exhibited at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR