SUEHARU FUKAMI Heaven - A Lighthouse called Kanata
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深見陶治
S U E H A RU F U K A M I
Heaven
2021
Slip-cast porcelain with celadon glaze
H36.5 × W124 × D32 cm
H14.3 × W48.8 × D12.6 in
SUEHARU FUKAMI “To create a sense of noble simplicity and great silence, I search for a world of fundamental depth.”
About the Artist About the Work
One of the most distinguished Japanese ceramists of his generation, Kyoto’s Sueharu The artist is known for his genre-defining high-pressure slip-casting techniques. Fukami’s
Fukami (b. 1947 –) wishes to express the ‘infinite space’ that lies beyond the supple curves works are first realised by creating a 3-tiered plaster mould of considerable size and weight.
and sharp silhouettes of his abstract porcelain sculptures, lusciously drenched in the delicate Porcelain slip is poured into this mould using a pressurised air compressor to ensure that
translucency of the artist’s signature pale-blue seihakuji glaze. The triumphant edges and the porcelain clay is proportionately condensed without air pockets or impurities. Once the
arches borne from Fukami’s minimal forms represent what cannot be tangibly seen: the mould is removed, the work is dried completely. Fukami then uses an ultra-sharp Tungaloy
circularity of life and the continuity of space itself. alloy blade and sandpaper to sharpen and hone the form into the work he envisions. After
bisque-firing in an electric kiln, the work is sprayed with seihakuji (celadon) glaze, and then
With works in over 50 public collections, in particular the British Museum and Victoria reduction-fired in a gas kiln for approximately 30 hours. Creating only 6 to 8 sculptures
& Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, the Museum a year, the art of Fukami continues to inspire the discerning eyes of critics and collectors
of Fine Arts in Boston, the Musée national de céramique-Sèvres and many others, Fukami alike.
has contributed to defining and expanding the meaning, importance, and popularity of
contemporary Japanese ceramics to collectors and museums the world over.
1947 Born in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan / Lives and works in Kyoto
Selected Awards
1985 Grand Prize, the Faenza International Ceramic Exhibition
1992 Grand Prize, MOA Mokichi Okada Award
1997 The Kyoto Prefecture Culture Prize, Prize for Artistic Merit
2008 Kyoto City Person of Cultural Merit
2012 Gold Prize, Japan Ceramic Society
Selected Exhibitions
1986 44th International Competition of Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy
Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf, Germany
1987 Galerie Maghi Bettini, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Galerie Maya Behn, Zürich, Switzerland
Musée des Arts Decoratifs de la Ville de Lausanne, Switzerland
1993 Modern Japanese Ceramics in American Collections, Japan Society, New York / New Orleans Museum of Art / Honolulu Academy of Art, USA
1995 Japanese Studio Craft: Tradition and Avant-garde, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
2002 Garth Clark Gallery, New York, USA
2003 Japan – Ceramics and Photography: Tradition and Today, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
The Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art at The Clark Center, Hanford, USA
2005 Faenza International Ceramics Museum, Italy
2006 Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century, Japan Society Gallery, New York, USA
Tôji: Avant-Garde et Tradition de la Cèramique Japonaise, Musèe national de cèramique Sèvres, France
2008 The Dauer Collection, California State University, University Library Gallery, USA
2011 Purity of Form, The Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture, Hanford, USA
Modern Celadon: Ambient Green Flow – the Emergence and Rise of East Asian Celadon, New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum, Taiwan
2012 Vallauris Ceramics Biennale, France
2013 TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
A Distant View: The Porcelain Sculpture of Sueharu Fukami, Garden Pavilion, Portland Japanese Garden, USA
2014 Fukami Sueharu Porcelain Sculptures, Eric Thomsen Japanese Art, New York, USA
Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’15, ’16, ’17)
Art Miami, USA (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19)
Celadon Now: Techniques and Beauty Handed Down From Southern Song to Today, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo / The Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo, Japan (’15)
2016 Spring Masters New York, USA
EAF Monaco, Monaco
Art Taipei, Taiwan
2017 TEFAF New York Spring, USA
The Greatest Story Ever Told – The collection curated by Ryan Gander, National Museum of Art, Osaka
2019 West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China (’20)
Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK
Kichizaemon X | Fukami Sueharu x Kichizaemon XV – Raku Jikinyu, Sagawa Art Museum, Sagawa, Japan
2020 Reopening Celebration I ART in LIFE, LIFE and BEAUTY, Suntory Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
Public Collections
Victoria & Albert Museum, UK / The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA / Indianapolis Museum of Art, USA / Argentina Museum of Modern Art, Japanese House, Argentina / Musée Ariana, Switzerland / Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Switzerland / The British Museum, UK
/ Brooklyn Museum of Art, NY, USA / The Everson Museum of Art, NY, USA / MIC Faenza International Museum of Ceramics, Italy / French Culture Foundation, France / Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf, Germany / International Permanent Collection of Modern Art,
Yugoslavia / Musée de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains, Lausanne, Switzerland / Musée National de Céramique, Sévres, France / Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, USA / Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA / Newcastle Art Gallery, Australia / New
Orleans Museum of Art, USA / North Carolina Museum of Art, USA / Portland Art Museum, USA / Saint Louis Art Museum, USA / Spencer Museum of Art, USA / The Art Institute of Chicago, USA / The National Museum of History, Taiwan / The Yale University Art
Gallery, USA / Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Japan / Chazen Museum of Art, USA / Kameoka City, Japan / Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Japan / Kyoto Prefectural Library and Archives, Japan / Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Japan / Suntory Museum, Japan
/ The Japan Foundation, Japan / The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan / The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan / The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan / The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan / Tokoname City Education Bureau, Japan / Tsurui
Museum of Art, Japan / Minneapolis Institute of Art, USA / Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand / National Gallery of Australia, Canberra / Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, USA / The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA / Harvard Art Museum, USA /
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Serbia / The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan / MOA Museum of Art, Japan / Rakusui-tei Museum of Art, Japan / French Culture Foundation, France / Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA / Kyoto State Guest House,
Japan / Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Japan / Musée Tomo, Tokyo, Japan / Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan / Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art, Shiga, Japan / Museum of Kyoto, Japan / The Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo, Japan / Okada Museum of
Art, Japan / Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Japan / Hoki Museum, Japan / Museum Richo, Kyoto, Japan / Sekiguchi Museum, Japan / Yanagisawa Collection, Japan / National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh / Museo Carlo Zauli, Faenza, Italy / Musée des arts décoratifs,
Paris, France / Lotte Reimers-Foundation, Deidesheim, Germany / Musée d’art et d’histoire, Geneva, Switzerland / Musée Sriana, Geneva, Switzerland / Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague / Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Argentina / Smithsonian Museum, The
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, USA / Peabody Essex Museum, USA / Burke Collection, NY, USA / Newark Museum, USA / Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, USA / Birmingham Museum of Art, UK / Road Island School of Design Museum, USA /
National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan
三原研 KEN MIHARA Sei (Awakening) XXII
“The sounds of the soul, I embrace in clay. It is this moment, to capture the flowing of life itself, I hope.” KEN MIHARA
About the Artist About the Work
Pristine forests, rugged ravines, gentle rivers and quiet mountains. Such are the landscapes The aesthetic qualities of serenity and the sublime coalesce within Mihara’s work. In
that artist Ken Mihara (b. 1958 –) witnessed as a child, growing up in the majestic scenery essence, these qualities are the scents of Japan, a culture that has traditionally searched for
of Izumo in Western Japan. With natural surroundings of great beauty, steeped in the beauty within wabi-sabi austerity, spiritual simplicity, and the cherishing of patina. Without
mysticism of ancient Shinto lore, Mihara’s solemn stoneware are borne and influenced from the use of glaze, the natural landscapes found on his hand-built facades are borne through
deeply idyllic environs. His works are far more than odes to nature, however. They are, multiple, lengthy and difficult kiln-firings, with each firing revealing a new element to a
above all, a window into the artist’s soul, and are monuments of self-expression that capture work’s clay flavour that help to ‘unlock the memories trapped within clay.’ Yet perhaps most
and convey the Ken Mihara of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. remarkable about Mihara is his ability to dramatically change styles over the years without
diminishing the ‘essence’ found within his oeuvre. In fact, Mihara changes the physical
With acquisitions by over 40 leading institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum and appearance of his work every three to four years, altogether abandoning popular forms for
the Victoria & Albert Museums, Mihara’s unglazed, multi-fired works have captivated new vistas.
a global audience, propelling the artist to become one of the premier artists within
contemporary Japanese ceramics. Without question, it is Mihara who is emblematic of the The work featured in this year’s TEFAF catalogue, entitled Sei (Awakening), marks the
Kanata aesthetic, and we are proud to have represented him for over 25 years. European debut of Ken Mihara’s latest series that was first revealed at A Lighthouse called
Kanata in 2020. Yet regardless of a given period in his career, each and every Mihara
work is instantly recognisable as a Mihara. It is the immediate appeal of his clay flavour,
his trademark blues and greys, the way his bases are elevated and executed with absolute
precision, the seemingly classical, time-tested presence that brims from his minimal
silhouettes, that are unmistakable for any other artist, and which have not changed
throughout the years. Ultimately, Mihara, Izumo and clay cannot be separated. They are
one.
1958 Born in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan / Lives and works in Izumo
Selected Awards
1989 Prize, Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition (’91, ’95, ’08)
1992 Prize, Chanoyu-no-Zokei Exhibition (’94, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’10)
Prize, International Ceramic Art Festival, Mino
1993 Governor's Prize, Japan Traditional Arts and Crafts Exhibition, Chugoku Division
1995 Award of Excellence, Chanoyu-no-Zokei Exhibition (’05, ’06)
1997 Prize, Unglazed Ceramic Public Offering Exhibition
2001 Grand Prize, Chanoyu-no Zokei Exhibition (’08)
2006 Award, Paramita Ceramics Competition, Paramita Museum
2008 Japan Ceramic Society Award
Selected Exhibitions
1997 Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (’98, ’99, ’00, ’02, ’03, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’09, ’11, ’13, ’15, ’18)
2002 International Asia-Pacific Contemporary Ceramics Invitational Exhibition, Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan
2008 Collect 2008, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Joan B. Mirviss Ltd., New York, USA (’11)
2009 Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (’10, ’11, ’12, ’13,’14,’15)
2010 Ken Mihara and Shihoko Fukumoto, Galerie Besson, London, UK
2012 Japan Zu Gast, Galerie Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Germany
2013 TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
Serenity in Clay, Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2014 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’15, ’16, ’17)
Tales Entwined as One – Shigekazu Nagae and Ken Mihara Exhibition, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Clark Art Institute Opening Exhibition, USA
Art Miami, USA (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19)
2015 Kei by Ken Mihara, Galerie Marianne Heller, Germany
2016 Spring Masters New York, USA
EAF Monaco, Monaco
– Kei – Memories in Clay, Japan Creative Centre / Mulan Gallery, Singapore
Art Taipei, Taiwan
2017 TEFAF New York Spring, USA
2018 Seattle Art Fair, USA (’19)
2019 Ken Mihara – IDYLLICAL SCULPTURES, Mayaro, Paris, France
Clay and Abstraction: When Memories Become Form, Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art, Japan
Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK
West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China (’20)
2020 Sei (Awakening), A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
2021 Art Fair Tokyo, Japan
Public Collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA / New Orleans Museum of Art, USA / Museum of Ceramic Art, Japan / Gifu Ceramics Museum, Japan / Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA / Victoria & Albert Museum, UK / Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA / Yale University
Museum of Art, USA / Peabody Essex Museum, USA / National Museum of Modern Art, Japan / Takagi Bonsai Museum, Japan / Tanabe Art Museum, Japan / East-Hiroshima City Museum, Japan / Tokyo Sankei Building, Japan / The Gotoh Museum, Japan / Herbert F.
Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, USA / Mary And Jackson Burke Foundation, USA / Minneapolis Institute of Art, USA / Musée Tomo, Japan / Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Japan / Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA / Chazen Museum of Art, University
of Wisconsin-Madison, USA / Shimane Art Museum, Japan / Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Japan / La Casa de Japón, Argentina / National Gallery of Australia, Australia / Canberra University Art Museum, Australia / Spencer Museum of Art, USA / The Museum of
Asian Art, Germany / Walters Art Gallery, USA / Brooklyn Museum, USA / Asian Art Museum, USA / Lotte Reimers-Stiftung, Germany / Grassi Museum, Germany / The Japan Foundation, Japan / Embassy of Japan (Japan Creative Center), Singapore / Mint Museum, USA
/ Musée Ariana, Switzerland / Musée Cernuschi, France / Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art, Japan / Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Japan
Sei (Awakening) XVI ( )
生田丹代子
N I YO KO I K U TA
Ku-153 (Free Essence-153)
2021
Cut, laminated sheet glass
H38.5 x W36 x D47 cm
H15 x W14 x D18.5 in
YOSHIRO KIMURA “I wish to create wor s that help the iewer feel eternity in a single glance.” “ e image that impresses itself on the iewer represents the true and nal nature of my wor .” NIYOKO IKUTA
About the Artist About the Work About the Artist About the Work
To capture the deep, bold blues of the oceans and skies upon the surfaces of his porcelain The artist commonly works with vessel forms, yet what Yoshiro Kimura tries to express is a The history of glass art in Japan is a relatively youthful one. Yet this reality is hardly a Capturing the complexity of light as it reflects, refracts and passes through cut cross
objects – such is Hiroshima-based artist Yoshiro Kimura’s (b. 1946 –) reason for creation. Zen-like serene spirituality that brims from the gradations of colour that almost melt from bane but a blessing, for glass artists are not shackled by the constrictions imposed on their sections of sheet glass, conveyed in Ikuta’s glass sculptures are the artist’s aesthetic melodies
Deeply influenced by the philosophies behind Zen Buddhism and the Way of Tea, Kimura light to dark blues, in particular where his glazes pour and flow from the top of his works creativity by the towering ghosts of tradition. It is within this context that the creativity – graceful, almost musical manifestations of Ikuta’s inner consciousness, each sheet of glass
had travelled to over 47 countries throughout the world during his years in university, and to their bases. Thrown on the wheel, his works feature a blend of porcelain and stoneware of Kyoto artist Niyoko Ikuta (b. 1953 –) flows freely into her spiralling sheets of glass. cut by hand and attached one by one with a special type of glue that disappears completely
was first drawn to the beauty of clay upon seeing the enigmatic blue pigments of ancient clays that help ease the process of throwing large forms. His trademark layered cobalt blue Considered to be one of the leading figures in Japanese glass art, Ikuta has enraptured under ultraviolet light. In fact, Ikuta’s signature series “Ku” expresses the Buddhist concept
Persian ceramics. Yet with the memory of witnessing first-hand the vivid colours of the glaze was developed during his twenties, and with age, Kimura has been able to mature collectors and museums the world over for her dynamic sculptures, executed with emphatic of reality and existence as being different yet “true” to each and every individual. The reality
Aegean Sea and the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii, Kimura would be inspired to recreate such and develop the colours to its current, mesmerising depths, created with multiple layers lyricism and spellbinding precision. With the artist’s glass works collected by leading public perceived by one person may be different from the reality experienced by another, even
natural beauty in his ceramic works. Kimura has received great acclaim for his signature and consecutive firings of great difficulty. One can also discover linear motifs etched upon institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Victoria & Albert though they are equally true. Likewise, Ku changes completely at each and every angle,
bold hekiyu (blue glaze), with his works being collected by museums throughout the world, the surfaces of his clay bodies, which further accentuate his blues and which add an extra Museum in London, Ikuta’s works continue to inspire generations of younger artists. yet each individual viewer, even from different viewpoints, will still experience its true
including the British Museum, the Musée national de céramique-Sèvres, the Victoria & dimension to his objects. Ultimately, Kimura draws upon and limns the beauty of the sky self. The iridescent rhythms of glass, captured herein, sparkling, riveting, and ultimately,
Albert Museum in London, and the Museo Art Nouveau y Art Déco in Salamanca, Spain, and oceans into his beautiful blues, often affectionately called ‘Kimura Blue’ by aficionados enrapturing.
etc. in Japan and the world over.
1953 Born in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Lives and works in Kyoto
1946 Born in Ehime Prefecture, Japan Selected Awards
Lives and works in Hiroshima 1986 Mayor's Prize, Kyoto Exhibition, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
Selected Awards 1987 Japan Glass Artcrafts Association Prize
1984 Encouragement Prize, 31st Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition 1991 Special Prize, Notojima Glass Art Now
Prize of Excellence, Chanoyu-no-Zokei Exhibition, Tanabe Museum (’93) 1998 Special Prize, Osaka Triennale Sculpture
1989 Quasi Grand Prize, 1st Ceramics Biennial ’89 2014 Kyoto Art Culture Prize, Kyoto Chuo Shinkin Bank
1990 Hiroshima Art Grant ’90 Award 2017 Kyoto City Cultural Merit Award, Kyoto City
2000 Bronze Prize, Exhibition of the Sixth Taiwan Golden Ceramics Awards Selected Exhibitions
2001 Kaneshige Toyo Prize, Japan Traditional Art Crafts Chugoku Division 1985 Art Now’85, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
2003 The Sanyo Shimbun Culture Prize Neues Glas aus Japan, Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsurehe, Germany
2005 62nd Chugoku Cultural Prize 2nd Interglass Symposium Novy Bor, Czechoslovakia
2020 Asahi Shimbun Newspaper Prize, 67th Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition 1987 Musee des Arts Decoratifs Lausanne, Switzerland
Selected Exhibitions 1992 Contemporary Glass Sculpture, New Jersey Center for Arts, USA
1981 Mitsukoshi Department Store, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan (’87, ’95, ’97, ’99, ’02, ’05, ’08, ’11, ’14, ’17, ’20) Glass from Ancient Crafts to Contemporary Art, The Morris Museum, USA
1996 KIMURA Yoshiro, Gallery Daiichi Arts, New York, USA 1993 Heller Gallery, New York, USA
2008 Design Miami / Basel, Galerie Pierre Marie Giraud, Switzerland (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18) 1994 Vänersborg Glass Festival, Vänersborg, Sweden
2009 Kimura Yoshiro, Galerie Pierre Marie Giraud, Belgium Habitat Galleries, Pontiac, Michigan, USA
Glass and Ceramics Today, L’Arc en Seine, New York, USA 1995 Japanese Studio Crafts, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
2010 Path of Elegance between the East and the West, the Villa Empain, Belgium 1996 The National Museum of Art Osaka, Japan
2012 Giappone Terra Di Incanti, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy 2003 The Glass Vessel, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, USA
Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (’15) 2009 Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)
Vallauris Ceramics Biennale, France Voices of Contemporary Glass, The Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA
2014 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’16, ’17) 2011 Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21) 2012 SOFA Chicago, USA
2019 Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK 2013 SOFA Chicago, USA (’14, ’15)
2020 Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan 2013 Gallery Nakamura, Kyoto, Japan
2014 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’15, ’16, ’17)
TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
Takashimaya Department Store Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
Public Collections Asia Week New York, USA
Art Miami, USA (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19) Public Collections
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan / Japan Foundation, Japan / Imperial Household Agency, Japan / Jingu
2015 Art Silicon Valley / San Francisco, San Mateo, USA The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA / Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, Germany / State Lemberk Chateau Crystalex, Czech Republic /
Shrine, Japan / Gifu Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art, Japan / Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, Japan / Higashi-
2016 Spring Masters New York, USA Musée de Design et d'Arts Appliqués Contemporains Lausanne, Switzerland / Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, The Netherlands / Yokohama
Hiroshima Museum of Art, Japan / Hiroshima University, Japan / Okayama Shoka University, Japan / Tanabe Museum of Art,
EAF Monaco, Monaco Museum of Art, Japan / Notojima Glass Museum, Japan / Suntory Museum, Japan / The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan / The
Japan / Shigaraki Cultural Ceramic Park, Japan / Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Japan / Hasegawa Machiko Museum, Japan p.20
Art Taipei, Taiwan National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan / Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, USA / Corning Museum of Glass, USA / Cafesjian Center for the Arts,
/ Faenza Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Italy / Auckland Institute & Museum, New Zealand / Museo Art Nouveau
Armenia / Victoria & Albert Museum, UK / Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, UK / Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA / The Ringling Museum of
y Art Déco, Spain / Japan-Spain Cultural Center of Salamanca University, Spain / Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Portugal / 2017 Palm Beach M+C, Palm Beach, USA
Art, USA / Long Museum, China / The Jupiter Museum of Art, China
Victoria & Albert Museum, UK / Musée national de céramique, France / Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan / TEFAF New York Spring, USA
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia / Qatar Visual Art Center, Qatar / World Ceramics Exhibition Foundation, South 2018 Seattle Art Fair, USA (’19)
Korea / Auckland Museum, New Zealand / The British Museum, UK 2019 West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China (’20) Selected Commission Works
Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK OS Building, Japan / Hiroshima Women's College, Japan / Yao City Gymnasium, Japan / The Japanese Embassy, Vietnam / Tokyo Memorial Park,
2020 Kyoto: Capital of Artistic Imagination, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA Japan / The Kobe Shimbun, Japan / The Kobe Shimbun Matsukata Hall, Japan / Pfizer Japan Inc. Nagoya Plant, Japan / NTT DATA, Komaba,
Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan Japan / Aoyama Park Tower, Japan / Imabari Funeral Hall, Japan / Hotel Grand Arc Hanzomon, Japan / Palace Hotel Tokyo, Japan / ANA Crown
2021 Art Fair Tokyo, Japan Plaza Hotel Okayama, Japan / The Peninsula Tokyo, Japan / Shima Kanko Hotel Bay Suite, Japan
76
田中信行
N O B U Y U K I TA N A K A
a ie e
a e e
in“ sing lac uer to re eal an inner world, I transform contemporary space.” NOBUYUKI TANAKA
About the Artist About the Work
Lacquer is a virtually transparent material used to coat infinite layers upon layers upon bare Tanaka’s sculptures test the boundaries of dry lacquer, called kanshitsu in Japanese and
surfaces, thereby imbuing these surfaces with a nearly eternal, even indestructible quality. a technique often associated with the traditional Buddhist sculptures of the Kamakura
It is this organically enigmatic beauty of lacquer, its virtual exteriors revealing hidden Period. Carving styrofoam into a basic shape, the artist applies thin layers of hemp onto
interiors, that fascinate the sculptor Nobuyuki Tanaka (b. 1959 –), widely considered to the surface, and then begins the process of meticulously lacquering the hemp with coats
be the leading lacquer artist of his generation, and it is Tanaka who has vibrantly pushed upon coats of lacquer. Upon creating the essential “frame” of the work, the styrofoam is
the boundaries of what contemporary lacquer can represent: a persuasive means of Eastern then carved away, leaving only the lacquered hemp to remain as the vestige of the original
expression within contemporary sculpture that is, simultaneously, a direct challenge to the body. Furthermore, the artist polishes the entirety of his large surfaces with charcoal
hegemony of the Western narrative within modern and contemporary art. stone, thereby giving his facades an almost mirror-like lustre that not only reflects light
but literally absorbs and engulfs its surroundings, infectiously pulling the viewer into its
Collected by major institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum in NYC and influential seductive grasp. For TEFAF 2021, Tanaka has created a free-standing vertical sculpture in
contemporary art museums such as the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and the 21st Century red lacquer for the very first time, marking a departure from his emphasis on black lacquer
Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Tanaka’s radiant sculptures in lacquer are as the sole means of expression for his signature vertical forms.
towering odes to space itself, challenging the viewer to almost question whether his or her
reflection appearing on the surfaces of his works are in fact manifestations of other realms
and dimensions unknown. His genius lies in his ability to manipulate the unique qualities
of lacquer to create a symbiotic interconnectivity between facades and their interiors, using
the raw beauty of his material to create sculptures that are not only elegantly crafted and
beautiful, but at the same time, represent a new way of perceiving ancient materials and
techniques in the 21st century.
1959 Born in Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo University of the Arts, MFA
Lives and works in Kanazawa
Selected Awards
2003 Takashimaya Art Award, Takashimaya Culture Foundation
2012 The 18th MOA Mokichi Okada Prize craft arts section award
Selected Exhibitions
1996 Japan Society Gallery, New York / Denver Art Museum, Colorado, USA
2004 MODERN MASTERS & COLLECTION, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan
2005 Ars Nova-Between the Contemporary Avant-garde Art and the Crafts, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2008 JAPAN! CULTURE ＋ HYPER CULTURE Exhibition, Kennedy Center, Washington, USA
2009 Nizayama Forest Art Museum, Toyama, Japan
2012 New Footing – Eleven Approaches to Contemporary Crafts, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
2013 Kuroda Tatsuaki, Tanaka Nobuyuki – The Power of Lacquer, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Japan
Hubei International Triennial of Lacquer Art 2013, WORLD OF GREAT LACQUER ORIGIN AND FLOWS, Hubei Museum of Art, China
The Audacious Eye, Japanese Art from the Clark Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota, USA
2014 TEFAF Maastricht, the Netherlands (’15, ’16, ’17, ’19, ’20, ’21)
Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (’15)
Art Miami 2014, Miami, USA (’15, ’16)
2015 Simple Forms – Contemplating Beauty, MORI Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Contemporary Art in Rakusui-tei, Rakusui-tei Museum of Art, Toyama, Japan
2016 Imaginary Skin, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Imaginary Skin, Kanazawa Art Gummi, Kanazawa, Japan
2017 TEFAF New York, New York, USA
OKU-NOTO TRIENNALE, Ishikawa, Japan
Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture, Minneapolis Institute of Art, USA
Flowing Water and Tactile Water, Hagi Uragami Museum, Japan
2018 KOGEI Architecture Exhibition, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
URFORMEN – Nobuyuki Tanaka, Primordial Memories, Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern, Germany
2019 Images of Asia: The East as Longed-for Other in Japanese Art, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Japan
URFORMEN – Nobuyuki Tanaka, Primordial Memories, Museum fur Lackkunst, Munster, Germany
West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China (’20)
2020 Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
Public Collections
Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, Japan / The Japan Foundation, Japan / The Museum of Fragrance, Japan / Toyota Municipal Museum of
Art, Japan / SHISEIDO Art House, Japan / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan / Utatsuyama Craft Workshop,
Japan / Rakusui-tei Museum of Art, Japan / The Metropolitan Museum, USA / Gitter-Yelen Foundation, USA / Brooklyn Museum of Art, USA
/ Minneapolis Institute of Art, USA / Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, UK / JT International, Switzerland / Victoria & Albert Museum, UK
/ GRASSI Museum of Applied Art, Germany / Hubei Museum of Art, China / Mori Art Museum, Japan / Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA
/ Fujian Art Museum, China / The National Museum of Modern Art , Tokyo / Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern, Germany / Museum für
Lackkunst, Munster, Germany
Selected Commission Works
Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Japan / Conrad Tokyo, Japan / The Peninsula Tokyo, Japan / Oracle Corporation, Japan / Double Tree By
Hilton, China / Urabandai Kogen Hotel, Japana ie e A e na e View
MANA KONISHI
小西真奈
Waterfall - Green
2015
oil on canvas
H91 × W117 cm
35.8 46MANA KONISHI
小西真奈
About the Artist About the Work
As a graduate student, Mana Konishi (b. 1968 –) was an apprentice under Grace Hartigan - a Every summer I was delighted to visit my sister who lives on a remote island in Okinawa.
female artist who supported fellow Abstract Expressionist painter Willem de Kooning from One year, we had the chance to visit a waterfall that only the local residents knew about.
The atmosphere was lively, with children frolicking at the basin of the waterfall that was
the 1960s. Konishi has described the motivation behind her work as follows: 'The fun
surrounded by a thick green forest. It was an exhilarating moment, as it was as if we had
thing about painting is that every mark you make leads you to the next stage...
entered a completely different world.
Narrative is not my intention, but people could "read" my paintings.' As with her
landscape work, Konishi first either takes or finds photographs of her subjects. These
give her a general sense of composition and detail. Once she begins working on
canvas, the original, photographic image becomes more personal - a selective record of the
subject's style, pose, and expression. At first glance, her brush strokes seem to be realistic.
However, when taking a closer look, you will start to see just how bold and carefree her
strokes are, which creates a unique landscape that seems almost imaginary to its viewers.
1968 Born in Tokyo, Japan
1993 BFA Graduated from Corcoran School of Art, Washington DC, USA
1996 MFA Completed Master Course at Maryland Institute College of Art, Hoffberger School of
Painting, Baltimore MD, USA
Selected Awards
2006 "VOCA" Award, Committee for the Exhibition"VOCA", Tokyo
2002 "The S&R Washington Award", The S&R Foundation, Washington DC
1998 "Grants in Aid Fellowship", DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, Washington DC
1995 "The Graduate Painting Award", Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore MD, USA
1994 "Maryland Institute International Graduate Fellowship – Tuition Award", Maryland Institute
College of Art Baltimore MD, USA
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2019 “New Angle #1 - Toward the Spring” Pumice Tuff, Tokyo, Japan
2018 “In the Woods” Forager, Tokyo, Japan
2018 “Greener Than Green” MINA-TO(Spiral), Tokyo, Japan
2018 “Greenhouse Portraits” CAY, Tokyo, Japan
2016 “On Location” ARATANIURANO, Tokyo, Japan
2014 “Reflection” ARATANIURANO, Tokyo, Japan
2011 “Alex”ARATANIURANO, Tokyo, Japan
2009 “Portraits” ARATANIURANO, Tokyo, Japan
2007 "Nowhere in Particular", Dai-ichi Life Gallery / ARATANIURANO, Tokyo
2006 "Summer Island", Space Kobo & Tomo, Tokyo
2006 "Monkey Beach & Ryugu", Space Kobo & Tomo, Tokyo
2006 "Kinkazan", Space Kobo & Tomo, Tokyo
2006 "VOCA 2006 The Vision of Contemporary Art", Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo
2005 "Dream Days", Space Kobo & Tomo, Tokyo
2004 "Studies", Space Kobo & Tomo, Tokyo
2004 "Project N19", Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo
2003 "Beautiful Place", Space Kobo & Tomo, Tokyo
Selected Group Exhibitions
2018.6 “La Botanica” MANSEI BRIDGE, Tokyo, Japan
2010 “Small Paintings”, ARATANIURANO, Tokyo, Japan
2009 "Mountains and Valleys", ARATANIURANO, Tokyo, Japan
Awards
2009 "From the Collection 030: 10th Anniversary Exhibition – Garden of Resonance", Tokyo Opera
2006 "VOCA" Award, Committee for the Exhibition "VOCA", Tokyo
City Art Gallery, Tokyo
2002 "The S&R Washington Award", The S&R Foundation, Washington DC
2008 "Sense through Mind, Body, and Spirit", Forever Museum of Contemporary Art, Akita
1998 "Grants in Aid Fellowship", DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, Washington DC
2008 "LuLuLu Landscape : How I see the world around me,", Shizuoka Prefectural Museum,
1995 "The Graduate Painting Award", Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore MD, USA
Shizuoka
1994 "Maryland Institute International Graduate Fellowship – Tuition Award", Maryland Institute College of Art
2008 "Art and Ecology - Ecosopy in Practice I", EYE OF GYRE, Tokyo Baltimore MD, USA
2005 "A Lunch", AXIS Gallery ANNEX, Tokyo
2005 "24th Outstanding Rising Artists Exhibition by Sompo Japan Fine Art Foundation", Seiji Togo Public Collections
Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Tokyo Gakushuin Women’s College, Tokyo, Japan / The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama, Kanagawa,
1998 "DC Commission on the Arts Fellowship Recipients Exhibition", Washington DC Japan / The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited, Tokyo, Japan / Fuchu Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan /
1995 "Superbia – Biennial Emerging Artists Exhibition", WPA, Washington DC Yokohama Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan / Takahashi Collection, Tokyo, Japan / Terada Collection, Tokyo, Japan /
1993 "Walk the Goddess Walk – Multi Media Exhibition", DCAC, Washington DC The Jean Pigozzi Collection, Geneva, Swiss米元優曜
MASAAKI YONEMOTO
S scra er
2020
olished, laminated sheet glass
H75 × W19.5 × D13 cm
H29.5 × W7.6 × D5.1 in“ eyond the edges and silhouettes of my abstract glass lay in nite space, the icissitudes of life, and a spiritual world of purity.” MASAAKI YONEMOTO
About the Artist About the Work
If the metropolises of the next millennium are futuristic pyramids in glass, Masaaki Appearances can be deceiving. At first glance, Yonemoto’s glass sculptures look as if they
Yonemoto’s (b. 1987 –) skyscrapers would reign bright in the night sky, glistening softly are made from a solid block of carved glass. This is far from truth. In fact, his glass prisms
in their incandescent splendour. Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture and recently moving back are made of up to 15 separate layers of gigantic sheet glass of the highest clarity that are
to his birthplace to build his own independent studio, Yonemoto is a young artist, yet his attached one by one through a special ‘photobond’ adhesive that disappears and hardens
talent is undisputed. Graduating head of his class at the Kurashiki University of Science and under ultraviolet light. Taking several days to attach each sheet of glass together without
the Arts in 2010, and further completing his graduate studies at the Toyama City Institute creating air bubbles or leaving impurities in-between the glass, the artist further places
of Glass Art, Yonemoto has received more than 10 major awards in glass in the three years within his glass a magic mirror coating that adds a reflective and infinite quality to his
since leaving university, and his works embody the great aesthetic potential of glass as a iridescent sculptures. Yonemoto then takes a diamond-head polisher to cut through the
major sculptural material. edges of the glass, carving only a millimetre at a time to discover the ideal silhouette in
his mind’s eye. This process takes up to two weeks to perform until he can sculpt the glass
into a riveting form ‘shorn of excess.’ Next, the artist takes nearly two weeks to polish
the entirety of his glass facades with cerium oxide, ensuring that the work shines without
damaging or causing cracks to his distinctive edges. Free-standing and balanced without
any need of a base, Yonemoto’s seductive glass sculptures point to the future of glass as a
1987 Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan compelling medium for contemporary sculpture.
2010 Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts
2012 Toyama Institute of Glass, MFA
2017 Moves studio from Toyama to Yamaguchi / Lives and works in Yamaguchi
Selected Awards
2010 Dean’s Award, Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts
2011 Award of Excellence, Tokyo Midtown Award
Special Award (Second Prize), 4th Contemporary Glass Triennial in Toyama
Head of Board Award, Toyama Chamber of Commerce
Ecchu Art Grand Prize, Ecchu Art Festival
President Award, The Kitanippon Shimbun Exhibition
2012 Created the Winners’ Trophy for Tokyo Midtown Award Design & Art Competition
Award of Excellence (Second Prize), 5th Contemporary Glass Exhibition in Sanyo Onoda
Award of Excellence, Ecchu Art Festival
Toyama Prefectural Artistic and Cultural Association Award
2013 Selected, Cheongju International Craft Biennale
Gold Prize, 7th Snow Design Competition
2014 Grand Prize, Art Fair Toyama Art Award (’16)
2015 Izak Prize, Art Fair Toyama Art Award
Selected Exhibitions
2009 4th Contemporary Glass Exhibition in Sanyo Onoda, Yamaguchi, Japan
Takaoka Crafts Competition, Daiwa Takaoka, Japan
2010 3rd Glass Education Network (GEN) Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Japan
2011 Tokyo Midtown Award, Tokyo Midtown, Japan (’12)
4th Contemporary Glass Triennial in Toyama, Japan
50th Japan Craft Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
2012 Roppongi Art Night, Tokyo Midtown, Japan
5th Contemporary Glass Exhibition in Sanyo Onoda, Yamaguchi, Japan
11th Oita Asian Sculpture Exhibition, Japan
Décor of Summer, Rakusui-tei Museum of Art Exhibition, Toyama, Japan
Toyama City New Glasswork Acquisition Exhibition, Japan
2013 Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (’14, ’15)
SOFA Chicago, USA (’14, ’15)
Cheongju International Craft Biennale, South Korea
2014 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’15, ’16, ’17)
Asia Week New York, USA
TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
Clark Art Institute Opening Exhibition, Massachusetts, USA
The Beauty of Materials – Group Exhibition, Galerie Marianne Heller, Germany
Art Miami, USA (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19)
2016 Spring Masters New York, USA
EAF Monaco, Monaco
Art Taipei, Taiwan
2017 TEFAF New York Spring, USA
2018 Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, USA
Seattle Art Fair, USA (’19)
2019 Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK
2020 Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China
2021 Art Fair Tokyo, Japan
Public Collections
Toyama Glass Art Museum, Japan
Tokyo Midtown, Japan
Nakaya Ukichiro Museum of Snow and Ice, JapanSATORU OZAKI
尾崎悟
Now and Here VIII
Hammered, polished stainless steel
H125 × W82 × D65 cmSATORU OZAKI “To create a wor more natural than nature itsel . ithin it, a world of harmony, purity and the serene.” “ rt is a way of li ing, and for me, an a rmation of life.” NAOKI TAKEYAMA
About the Artist About the Work About the Artist About the Work
An ascetic recluse living in the foothills of Chiba who refused to hold exhibitions of his Transforming metal into something fluid, while bending the properties of time, space and Naoki Takeyama (b. 1974 –) is a charismatic artist who wields the ancient technique Pushing the boundaries of enamelled metal is Takeyama’s raison d’ȇtre, and his new objects
work for nearly 10 years before his representation by Yufuku Gallery in 2014, metal artist light through the traditional techniques of hand-hammering and polishing metal, Ozaki’s of enamelling metal with an electric modernity, his highly distinctive creations calling for TEFAF embody the many elements that have brought Takeyama critical acclaim.
Satoru Ozaki (b. 1963 –) is considered one of the 'lost treasures' of Japan in light of his steel sculptures oft feature a pristine mirror-like finish that virtually warps reality and the to mind the avant-garde and asymmetrical designs of world-famous Japanese fashion Incredibly, Takeyama first hand-pinches into shape riveting copper bodies that twist
mind-bending techniques of hammering and polishing the immobile and adamantine reflections upon it. Ozaki’s works are imbued with a Space Odyssey futurism entwined with designers of the 1980’s. Head of his class at the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts, themselves into animation, using thin sheets of copper that are often pleated to absolute
material of stainless steel into beautiful, minimal forms of great depth and presence. Once a beauty that takes the viewer into realms unforeseen. Takeyama has been recognised with a flurry of awards since his debut at the age of 24, perfection. Further, rather than enamelling via the use of wires, the artist uses a small sieve
heralded as the saviour of conceptual metalwork during his time at the prestigious Tokyo while winning myriad awards since, with recent acquisitions by the Victoria & Albert and a bamboo paddle to apply a powder-base enamel glaze onto the body of the work that
University of the Arts, the sands of time had slowly buried the artist underneath the Entitled “Now and Here VIII”, Ozaki’s latest sculpture finds the artist hammering, Museum in London in 2008, the Birmingham and Plymouth Museums of Art in 2011, crystalizes after firing. After applying the dry glaze, Takeyama fires the work in a small
limelight. Yet finding a muse in the new aesthetic movement of the Keisho-ha (School of welding and ultimately polishing multiple pieces of steel into a single, harmonious entity. the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in 2012, the Philadelphia Museum of Art in electric kiln, re-applies enamel, dries, and fires again, with the process repeated more than
Form) and the artists affiliated with A Lighthouse called Kanata, Ozaki has sprung forth Embracing the fleeting, chance meetings that life brings upon us, the curving silhouettes of 2014, the Yale University Museum of Art and the Grassi Museum in Leipzig, Germany in 10 times. Then, the artist applies gold leaf to the entirety of the work, and after fusing the
from his hermit-like existence to create never-before-seen sculptures in shimmering steel the work represent two star-crossed persons on different paths of life that will one day meet 2015. Takeyama’s metalwork is widely seen as a stunning reinterpretation of an age-old art, leaf onto the body in an electric kiln, coats the work with a transparent glaze to entrap the
that are now captivating audiences the world over. as one. In other words, the two-pointed tips of the work symbolize two different roads that ultimately proposing to metal a wealth of new possibilities. leaf within the body of the work. As if in a state of constant flux, Takeyama’s enamelled
will soon converge, yet not quite consummated. Do these paths represent unrequited lovers works are an exquisite collaboration between metal and maestro.
With collections in such collections as the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and most recently of stars crossed? To meet or not to meet – Ozaki’s metal poems capture the serendipitous
the Long Museum in Shanghai, China, Ozaki’s odes to steel resonate above and beyond, vicissitudes of life itself, the two paths of life meandering, flowing, and moving towards one
with each strike of his hammer pouring into metal the poetry of life. another as an incarnation of destiny itself. As we do not know what life may bring, we must
cherish the moment, appreciate what paths we’ve taken and tread, and fully accept where
life may lead us, thereby embracing the Now and Here in all its beauty. 1974 Born in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
1999 Tokyo University of the Arts, MFA
In fact, this particular sculpture embraces the separate paths of life taken between a father Lives and works in Toyota
and son, inspired most of all by Ozaki’s relationship with his own son, a child he is deeply
Selected Awards
proud of and cares for. Indeed, one can visualize the separate branches of the work as the 1997 Ataka Prize, Tokyo University of the Arts
bold and masculine paternal figure as represented by the thick, powerful side of the work, 1999 Prize, National Japan Gold & Silver Works Exhibition
which is then elegantly juxtaposed with the gentle child; the whispery boy looking up Salon de Printemps Prize, Tokyo University of the Arts
above to reach his father, while the father appears almost as if he is reaching out his hand to Prize, 33rd International Enamelling Art Exhibition
his child he dearly loves. The eternal relationship between father and child is a story as old 2000 Grand Prize, Japanese Crafts Exhibition
as time, and in Ozaki’s Now and Here VIII, this loving ode is poignantly captured in the Prize, 34th Japan Enamelling Art Exhibition
riveting silhouettes of stainless steel. 2001 Toyota Cultural Prize, Aichi Prefecture
Gold Prize, I.H.M TALENT, Germany
Vielun Prize, TALENT, Germany
1963 Born in Tokyo, Japan 2002 Award, Japan Jewellery Arts Competition 2002
1993 Tokyo University of the Arts, MFA 2005 Juror's Special Prize, 7th National Ceramics Competition, Mino
2010 Art Fund Prize, Collect (’11)
Lives and works in Chiba
2012 Nominated, Okada Mokichi Prize, MOA Museum of Art (’14)
Selected Awards
Selected Exhibitions
1986 Fujino Scholarship Award, Tokyo University of the Arts
2003 METALLFORMEN, Germany and Italy
1987 Fujino Scholarship Award, Tokyo University of the Arts 2005 Exempla, Germany
2007 Solo Exhibition, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (’10)
Selected Exhibitions
2008 A Japanese Dialogue, Scottish Gallery, UK
1986 Okurayama Museum, Yokohama, Japan
Collect, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
1993 Tokyo University of the Arts, Master of Fine Arts Graduation Exhibition, Japan 2009 Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)
Yokohama Galleria Bellini Hill Gallery, Nomura Cultural Foundation, Japan Quest Gallery, Bath, UK
1996 Metal Art Museum, Chiba, Japan 2012 Art Fair Tokyo, Japan (’13, ’21)
2002 Toki Gallery, Chiba, Japan New Footing: 11 Approaches to Contemporary Craft, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
2013 TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
2006 Garret Interior, Japan (’07)
Artfully Connected, Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo, Japan
2014 Art Miami, USA (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19)
2014 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’15, ’16, ’17)
2015 Keisho-ha II: A New Materialism, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Solo Exhibition, Asia Week New York, USA
Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’16, ’17) Clark Art Institute Opening Exhibition, USA
Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK Art Miami, USA (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19)
2016 TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21) 2015 Japan!, Paris, France
Spring Masters New York, USA 2016 Spring Masters New York, USA
EAF Monaco, Monaco
EAF Monaco, Monaco
Art Taipei, Taiwan
Art Taipei, Taiwan
2017 TEFAF New York Spring, USA
2017 TEFAF New York Spring, USA
2018 Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, USA
2018 The Modern Minstrels in Metalworking, Lixil Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Seattle Art Fair, USA (’19)
Sprinkle of Design, B&B Italia Japan, Tokyo, Japan 2019 Decorative Arts in Meiji and Heisei: Crafting Beauty Across 150 Years, Museum of Greek Modern Culture, Greece
Seattle Art Fair, USA (’19) Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK
2019 Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK 2020 Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan p.52
West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China (’20)
2020 Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
2021 Art Fair Tokyo, Japan Public Collections
Toyota City, Japan / Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan / Victoria & Albert Museum, UK / Manchester City Art Gallery,
UK / Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, UK / Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery, UK / The National Museum of
Public Collections
Modern Art, Japan / The Enamel Arts Foundation, USA / The Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA / The Yale University
Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan
Art Gallery, USA / Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany / The Design Museum, Germany
Metal Art Museum, Chiba, Japan
Long Museum, Shanghai, China
89e wa
(2020)
Hammered, polished stainless steel
H58 x W176 x D130 cm
inNAOKI TAKEYAMA
武山直樹
Haku ai
(A ousand Years)
2021
Enamelled copper, gold leaf
H36 × W40 × D33 cm
53“ rt is a way of li ing, and for me, an a rmation of life.” NAOKI TAKEYAMA
About the Artist About the Work
Naoki Takeyama (b. 1974 –) is a charismatic artist who wields the ancient technique Pushing the boundaries of enamelled metal is Takeyama’s raison d’ȇtre, and his new objects
of enamelling metal with an electric modernity, his highly distinctive creations calling for TEFAF embody the many elements that have brought Takeyama critical acclaim.
to mind the avant-garde and asymmetrical designs of world-famous Japanese fashion Incredibly, Takeyama first hand-pinches into shape riveting copper bodies that twist
designers of the 1980’s. Head of his class at the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts, themselves into animation, using thin sheets of copper that are often pleated to absolute
Takeyama has been recognised with a flurry of awards since his debut at the age of 24, perfection. Further, rather than enamelling via the use of wires, the artist uses a small sieve
while winning myriad awards since, with recent acquisitions by the Victoria & Albert and a bamboo paddle to apply a powder-base enamel glaze onto the body of the work that
Museum in London in 2008, the Birmingham and Plymouth Museums of Art in 2011, crystalizes after firing. After applying the dry glaze, Takeyama fires the work in a small
the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in 2012, the Philadelphia Museum of Art in electric kiln, re-applies enamel, dries, and fires again, with the process repeated more than
2014, the Yale University Museum of Art and the Grassi Museum in Leipzig, Germany in 10 times. Then, the artist applies gold leaf to the entirety of the work, and after fusing the
2015. Takeyama’s metalwork is widely seen as a stunning reinterpretation of an age-old art, leaf onto the body in an electric kiln, coats the work with a transparent glaze to entrap the
ultimately proposing to metal a wealth of new possibilities. leaf within the body of the work. As if in a state of constant flux, Takeyama’s enamelled
works are an exquisite collaboration between metal and maestro.
1974 Born in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
1999 Tokyo University of the Arts, MFA
Lives and works in Toyota
Selected Awards
1997 Ataka Prize, Tokyo University of the Arts
1999 Prize, National Japan Gold & Silver Works Exhibition
Salon de Printemps Prize, Tokyo University of the Arts
Prize, 33rd International Enamelling Art Exhibition
2000 Grand Prize, Japanese Crafts Exhibition
Prize, 34th Japan Enamelling Art Exhibition
2001 Toyota Cultural Prize, Aichi Prefecture
Gold Prize, I.H.M TALENT, Germany
Vielun Prize, TALENT, Germany
2002 Award, Japan Jewellery Arts Competition 2002
2005 Juror's Special Prize, 7th National Ceramics Competition, Mino
2010 Art Fund Prize, Collect (’11)
2012 Nominated, Okada Mokichi Prize, MOA Museum of Art (’14)
Selected Exhibitions
2003 METALLFORMEN, Germany and Italy
2005 Exempla, Germany
2007 Solo Exhibition, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (’10)
2008 A Japanese Dialogue, Scottish Gallery, UK
Collect, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
2009 Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)
Quest Gallery, Bath, UK
2012 Art Fair Tokyo, Japan (’13, ’21)
New Footing: 11 Approaches to Contemporary Craft, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
2013 TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
Artfully Connected, Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo, Japan
2014 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’15, ’16, ’17)
Solo Exhibition, Asia Week New York, USA
Clark Art Institute Opening Exhibition, USA
Art Miami, USA (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19)
2015 Japan!, Paris, France
2016 Spring Masters New York, USA
EAF Monaco, Monaco
Art Taipei, Taiwan
2017 TEFAF New York Spring, USA
2018 Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, USA
Seattle Art Fair, USA (’19)
2019 Decorative Arts in Meiji and Heisei: Crafting Beauty Across 150 Years, Museum of Greek Modern Culture, Greece
Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK
2020 Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
Public Collections
Toyota City, Japan / Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan / Victoria & Albert Museum, UK / Manchester City Art Gallery,
UK / Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, UK / Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery, UK / The National Museum of
Modern Art, Japan / The Enamel Arts Foundation, USA / The Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA / The Yale University
Art Gallery, USA / Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany / The Design Museum, GermanyMitsu (Enrapture)
TAKAFUMI ASAKURA
朝倉隆文
e Transcendence of the Primordial Heavens
2021
Black ink on aluminum leaf, mounted on 3 panels
H184.2 × W280.5 cmTAKAFUMI ASAKURA “ y fountain of inspiration ows from the material that is blac in .”
朝倉隆文
About the Artist About the Work
Takafumi Asakura (b. 1978 –) pours into his poetry in ink a zeitgeist for the 21st century, The artist’s lyricism stems from his ability to juxtapose the traditional with the progressive,
displaying technical virtuosity whilst experimenting with abstraction and the avant- with the ancient material that is black ink painted upon the most contemporary of
garde, wielding but a single type of ink and brush to paint the most intricate of Nihonga- materials that is aluminum leaf, and with calligraphy providing the figurative backdrop
style paintings. Negative space is filled entirely with ancient calligraphy, whilst beacons of for the metaphysical incarnations of the gods in abstraction. For his latest work “The
spiralling ink swirl and coalesce into mythical beasts, Shinto gods, and elements of nature. Transcendence of the Primordial Heavens”, Asakura captures the God of the Storm in all
Yet intricacy and technique are ancillary to whether an artist has the power to paint works his ebullient energies that have been captured in flowing, roaring abstraction, with the
that spellbind, enthrall, enrapture. Indeed, Asakura’s meticulous paintings are mesmerising artist’s trademark calligraphy filling the negative space with text taken word for word from
poems rooted in Shinto scripture and the movements within his own soul, possessing the an ancient 8th century Japanese book on Shinto mythology, the Kojiki. As with the best
power to stop viewers in their tracks by the visceral strength of his brushstrokes interspersed of Asakura's paintings, there lies within an enthralling and potent danger, an utter and
with copious, painstaking detail. immediate urgency of mythic proportions that is at once epic and visceral, poignantly
capturing the above and beyond.
One of the youngest painters to become a juror at the Nitten Japan Fine Arts Exhibition,
Takafumi Asakura’s story has only just begun, with works already acquired by 8 public
collections in both Japan and the United States, and with a growing recognition in artistic
circles the world over.
1978 Born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
2002 Tama Art University, MFA
Lives and works in Yokohama
Selected Awards
2002 Nitten Japan Fine Arts Exhibition (selected every year since)
2003 Nisshun Fine Arts Exhibition (’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18)
2010 Special Selection Award, Nitten Japan Fine Arts Exhibition (’12)
2013 Work awarded Special Selection, Nisshun Fine Arts Exhibition
2015 Juror, Nitten Japan Fine Arts Exhibition
Selected Exhibitions
2003 Shirota Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2010 Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (’11, ’12)
2012 Art Fair Tokyo, Japan (’13, ’21)
Takashimaya Department Store, Tokyo, Japan
2013 Collect, London, UK (’14, ’15)
TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
2014 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’15, ’16, ’17)
Asia Week New York, USA
Resonances, Galerie Pierre Bonnefille, Paris, France
Art Miami, USA (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19)
2016 Spring Masters New York, USA
EAF Monaco, Monaco
Art Taipei, Taiwan
2017 TEFAF New York Spring, USA
Of Legends and Lore – Japanese Ink Paintings by Takafumi Asakura, Serindia Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
2018 Seattle Art Fair, USA (’19)
Takafumi Asakura, Taimei Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2019 Nihonga Now, Masterpiece London, London, UK
West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China (’20)
2020 Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
Public Collections
Spencer Museum of Art – University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA / The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Centre –
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA / Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota, USA / The Kennedy Theatre,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA / Okamura Tenmangu Shrine, Yokohama, Japan / Osannomiya Hie Shrine,
Yokohama, Japan / Takaoten Shrine, Hachioji, Japan / Jujusan Asakawa Kotohira Daigongen Shrine, Hachioji,
Japan
Selected Commission Works
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