Aoki first encountered lacquerwork during college. Drawn to the deep luster of urushi lacquer, she embraced the medium. Aoki’s sculptures explore the strangeness of human existence through alluring representations of amorphous bodies characterized by elongations, omissions, or other deformations. Her representations of the human form encapsulate a unique sense of reality. Aoki’s bold lacquer sculptures are works of art that resist the narrow categorization of lacquerwork as “craft.”

Ito is a versatile ceramic artist who is both a craft artisan and a sculptor. His works range from three-dimensional objects to everyday plates. This diversity is not the result of any conscious attempt to balance both types of work. For Ito, there is no separation between practical craft objects and pieces of artistic expression; both are marked by his touch. Ito’s representations of human forms, in particular, are characteristic of his sculptural mode of expression. While the carefully abstracted forms have a primitive appearance, they are both symbolic and poetic, marked by multidimensionality. Ito’s sculptures may be exhibited individually or in groups, offering a wide breadth of expression. They are a product of Ito’s original creative landscape.

nui project is a key visual arts program operated by Shobu Gakuen, a welfare facility located in the city of Kagoshima. The dynamic program, which derives its name from the word nui (“embroidery”), moves and grows like an amoeba. Putting needle to thread, participants create works of art and design, sometimes even collaborating with designers to make original products. The unique stitching created by each participant produces a rich and multilayered landscape of expression. This individuality, combined with the sheer volume of decoration, gives their work an overwhelming power.

Sudo is a textile designer that produces innovative textiles using everything from traditional dyeing and weaving techniques to contemporary high-tech processes. Sudo has collaborated with mills and craftspeople in textile-producing regions throughout Japan to produce both new materials and revolutionary textiles. Her work is internationally recognized. Sudo draws out the full potential of textiles—a material at the heart of human society—developing everything from clothes to textiles for the home. Her large-scale installation for this exhibition creates a space with a festive atmosphere.

Tanaka’s works consist of regular patterns of straight stitches sewn vertically. She uses the same set of five or seven colors, closely arranging the threads side-by-side and alternating the color for each new line. Although the stitches appear to be unsecured straight stitches, closer examination reveals that the threads are secured with backstitches at the beginning and end of the stitching. Tanaka’s meticulous bands of embroidery take form one thread at a time over days and months.

Tanabe Chikuunsai IV is known for both traditional works of bamboo and large-scale installations. His installations are spectacular: enormous works of physical art that overwhelm the viewer with dynamic, undulating bamboo forms that transform and traverse the installation space. For Tanabe, bamboo is more than just a material—it is an extension of himself. His bamboowork is an act of self-expression and freedom, whether it takes the form of a small basket or a giant installation. He is a truly contemporary craft artist.

Nakata uses the traditional technique of kinma to create contemporary pieces. Kinma is a decorative lacquerware technique in which designs are cut into already lacquered surfaces. By varying the nature of the incisions, the multilayered structure of the lacquer can be used to create unique patterns. Nakata’s work is characterized by striking kinma designs applied to simple forms. She creates large works of lacquerware and is active in the fields of design and contemporary art as well as craft.

Nakamura is a ceramicist who draws on the aesthetics of the Kanazawa Rinpa school. Although he mainly creates tea ceramics, in recent years Nakamura’s works have extended to include architectural pieces for tea rooms and large sculptures that dominate the space around them. Recognized for his flexible ideas and design-like approach, Nakamura creates pieces that suit the needs of each venue. His art is characterized by its versatility, subtly fitting into and transforming any space.

Every day without fail, Yamagiwa creates similarly shaped clay figures that stand around a dozen centimeters tall. Yamagiwa thinks of the figures as the bodhisattva Jizo and affectionately calls them “Masami Jizo.” The figures have large eyes and mouths and straight, cylindrical torsos that terminate at the base. Their arms are held crossed in front of their torsos. Although the figures vary slightly in size, their forms are exactly the same. Yamagiwa never tires of them. He continues to make them almost like a kind of journal—a testament to his existence. When gathered together, the Masami Jizo fill entire rooms, dominating exhibition spaces with their presence.

Hot glass in its liquid form can be shaped endlessly. Yokoyama’s works utilize the full potential of this plasticity. In recent years he has begun creating free-form glass objects reminiscent of sugar sculptures, but his earlier works consist of giant pieces of blown glass up to 5 meters long. These blown sculptures are hollow and shaped like cocoons with bulging midpoints. For their size, the walls of the glass are alarmingly thin. Tapered feet protrude from the top and bottom of each object, and the pieces stand vertically in groups, creating a sense of tension. Yokoyama’s acrobatic creative process is both daring and bold.