This sculpture, titled Flowing Cosmos and River, was created in 1998 in Hue, Vietnam by Japanese sculptor Yasushi Hori.
Artist: Yasushi Hori
Title: Flowing Cosmos and River
Location & Date: Hue, Vietnam, 1998
Material: Stone
Concept & Theme:
Flowing Cosmos and River is a monumental stone sculpture that explores the relationship between cosmic movement, water and the natural landscape. Rather than representing a recognizable figure, Yasushi Hori works directly with the mass of the stone, revealing abstract forms that appear to emerge from within the material.
The composition is built around several powerful vertical and curved elements. A large rounded form rises toward the top, while the surrounding stone masses twist, split and flow around a central opening. This creates the impression of energy moving through the stone, as if a river were passing through a geological formation.
The central void is particularly important. It allows the landscape and light to pass through the sculpture, creating a visual connection between the stone, sky, trees and water beyond. The sculpture therefore becomes not only an object, but also a frame through which the surrounding landscape can be experienced.
The rough surfaces preserve the natural character of the stone, while areas of smoother carving reveal the artist’s intervention. This contrast between raw material and refined form reflects Hori’s approach to sculpture, in which the original character of the stone remains visible rather than being completely concealed.
The title Flowing Cosmos and River suggests two interconnected scales of nature: the vast movement of the cosmos and the intimate, continuous movement of a river. The sculpture brings these ideas together through its flowing contours, circular forms and open spaces.
Its setting in Hue, a city deeply associated with the Perfume River and a rich cultural landscape, gives the work an especially meaningful context. The sculpture appears to echo the movement of water while simultaneously suggesting the larger cycles of nature — erosion, transformation, growth and renewal.
The work can therefore be understood as a meditation on nature as a continuous flow, where stone, water, landscape and the universe are not separate elements but parts of the same evolving system.
Overall, Flowing Cosmos and River demonstrates Yasushi Hori’s characteristic use of mass, void, natural stone texture and organic abstraction to create a sculpture that is closely integrated with its environment. Rather than simply standing within the landscape, the sculpture seems to emerge from it and participate in its rhythm.
