Our gallery has focused on showcasing emerging artists born after the 1980s. However, at this time, we are honored to present the work of sculptor Yoshio Kuriki.
Born in 1950 to a family of ceramic artists in the city of Seto, Aichi Prefecture, Kuriki studied concepts and expression in sculpture under concrete sculptor Yoshitatsu Yanagihara at Nihon University. In terms of historical background, he continued tackling expression on his own terms while absorbing influence from the Mono-ha movement and GUTAI art, and was a pioneer in the creation of abstract sculptures combining iron and ceramic. Up to his current age of 75, Kuriki's work has included drawing, painting, and three-dimensional ceramic art. Throughout all of these activities, he strives to express a feel for the world – the discoveries, surprises, and joys found in everyday creation and living. Always seeking new answers, Kuriki's gaze resists settling on a single form. From his creative stance of sizing up materials, endlessly considering how they are handled, and "thinking by hand" as a way of ever renewing his own gaze, one can perceive his fundamental desire to reach out and touch the essence of the world with his own hands through the formative arts. The "Standing forest" exhibition consists almost entirely of recent and new works that deepen consideration of "inside and outside." Through Yoshio Kuriki's wide-ranging expression that encompasses works of sculpture revealing three-dimensional forms embracing inside and outside worlds with painted hidden interiors of ceramics, oil painting, palm-sized "small pictures" depicting the everyday, and charcoal sketching undertaken from around 2023, we invite you to take in the shapes and the rich textures to be found in his hands.