John Mori was born in New Mexico in 1951. Mori has a background in small metal pieces, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture and bronze casting. Injuries to his hand and back and teaching at an institution without a foundry necessitated changing mediums. His approach to form is sculptural even though he feels his works lie between that of a potter and a furniture maker. Aside from doing site-specific pieces along the Arkansas River, his work since 1986 has been with a series of portals, gateways or passageways.
"The work I am doing now is probably more personal than anything I have ever done," says Mori. His Japanese-American background and growing up in New Mexico left him feeling isolated. The portal series relates to the internment his family faced during World War II, to his own identity and to decisions he has made. Temple gates are a direct influence but it is the choices in life and what governs those choices that he ponders, "choices that could have put you someplace very different." He has done more than two dozen portals and has lost count. He is sensitive to contrasting materials and colors and to scale. His works are poetic, quiet and reflective. "I don't know what makes my things relevant," said Mori, "the answers come from within you…the reasons are always changing."
Alan DuBois, Curator of Decorative Arts
Arkansas: Year of American Craft 1993 exhibition catalogue