BOLD SCULPTURE IN THE WORLD OF REFINED DESIGN:

YOSHIMI FUTAMURA AND MOLTENI&C

Informed by Japanese traditional art and the culture of ceramics, Yoshimi Futamura’s (1959) body of works embodies a unique energy, conveying an idea of art that honours the inner spirit of clay, as a per se entity. The search for imperfection and incomplete beauty in her textural sculptures is the key to emphasising their emotional connection with Nature, evoking an instinctive memory of our origin and our belonging to it as living beings.

Among the first artists represented by KALPA since its opening in 2019, Futamura’s organic pieces perfectly convey the Galleries' vision, embracing the domains of fine art and craft within a continuity between the past, present, and future. As part of the creative collaboration between KALPA and Molteni&C, Futamura was invited to present a selection of works in stoneware and porcelain for the International Salone del Mobile 2023 that have been successively included in the advertising campaign for the new design collection.

“There is no conceptual distinction between functional and non-functional art, as I believe that a cup or a bowl can be art: a simple bowl in a home can infuse the place spiritually.”

Under the artistic direction of Vincent Van Duysen, Molteni&C’s stand at the Salone del Mobile 2023 featured a modern reinterpretation of the ancient Roman Domus, giving an absolutely important role to the outdoor and conveying a close connection between interior and exterior, private and common spaces.

Within this contemporary concept of housing, for the first time, Molteni&C introduced a refined choice of Futamura’s iconic sculptures from the series Rebirth and Black Hole, creating a setting of distinctive elegance and art living. Presenting a sculpture charged with spirituality and energy, Futamura's artworks invited visitors to discover the path of tactile imagination and a profound connection with the object itself.

Following the experience of the Salone, Futamura’s pieces are now harmoniously integrated within the interiors of Molteni&C's showroom in Giussano (Brianza), and incorporate a perfect balance between Oriental and Occidental approaches to art. While working with clay, the artist senses the secret message of this marvelous material and reveals its inner power through the modeling of deep cavities on the verge of expanding to burst or sinking to collapse. 

Moreover, by virtue of the new collaborative exhibition project Perenni, KALPA presents a further selection of Futamura’s sculptures and functional vases in the modernist-inspired Pavilion by Van Duysen at Molteni&C’s. Its architecture has been designed to promote a fluid connection between the courtyard and the interior space, just as the ecosystem of Futamura’s research embraces the complexities of the natural realms, bringing indoors their spirit, forms and energies via timeless works of art.

“When I was a student, I was initiated into the art of wood-firing ceramics and the spiritual dimension contained therein: in my view, the matter becomes the centre of a new spirit coming from the Earth and a natural asset leading the viewer to something emotionally shared.” 

Futamura is now featured in the digital version of M Magazine, an editorial project by Molteni&C, conceived as a space for design and architecture lovers and a network of time zones, passions, memories and future projects. In the interview conducted by KALPA's in-house curator, the artist discusses her background and education, research and philosophy, intimate relationship with the elected medium, and the positive impact that an object of art may add to our daily living.

Click on the following image to read the full interview:

Over the past decades, Yoshimi Futamura (Nagoya, Japan, 1959) developed various firing processes and produced the landmark series Black Hole and Rebirth, Vasque, and Bol Ecorce, all botanical and geological-inspired sculptures and vases. The particular surface of these pieces may appear burned, crushed, or speckled with fine granules, and it is obtained by a delicate patina of liquid porcelain that cracks around the clay during the refined firing process at high temperatures. Her practice can be read within the concept of wabi-sabi, or incomplete beauty, as the irregularity of her pieces increases their meditative quality.

Photos of Futamura's sculptures at Molteni&C's: courtesy of KALPA

Photos of Futamura's sculptures at the Salone del Mobile 2023 and Molteni&C's headquarters: courtesy of Molteni&C

Quotes from Yoshimi Futamura

KALPA INSTAGRAM