Sculpting the inner force of nature

YOSHIMI FUTAMURA: SCULPTING THE INNER FORCE OF NATURE

Japanese ceramist Yoshimi Futamura’s (Nagoya, 1959) corpus of sculptures is an expression of motion and a conversation between different materials and textures, giving rise to contemporary forms inspired by themes of Japanese ceramics both modern and classical. Her practice can be read within the concept of wabi-sabi, imperfect beauty, as the irregularity of her pieces enhances their meditative quality. 

“The earth is the raw material of my work. I strive to express its energy and natural strength. Earth plus Water plus Fire. It is thanks to these three elements that I can give birth to a new life.”

Over the past decades, Futamura has created several series such as Black Hole, Rebirth and Bol Ecorce, all botanically and geologically inspired sculptures and vases, achieving a perfect balance between Oriental and Occidental approaches to art. Alongside these iconic series, KALPA Galleries has this year selected new works from the collections Vasque and Metamorphose. 

These unique artworks are created from a blend of stoneware clays and a mixture of fired and raw fragmented porcelain, to present a texture appearing burned, crushed, charred, or speckled with fine granules. The particular surface of works such as Rebirth and Black Hole is further obtained by a delicate patina of liquid porcelain that cracks around the clay during the refined firing process at high temperatures. Through this innovative procedure, Futamura reveals the power inherent within her medium, aesthetically emphasized by the deep cavities of some of her artworks that seem to be on the brink of expanding to burst or sinking to collapse.

Her intuitive understanding of ceramics arises from her childhood spent in Nagoya, and from her meeting with the Masters of the Seto Centre. Thanks to the Japanese ritual of the "tea ceremony", she learned the connection between ceramics and the practice of the "art of living". Shaped by its creator, the terracotta work is an invitation for the viewer to discover the path of a tactile imagination. While she was a student, Futamura was initiated into the art of wood-firing ceramics and the spiritual dimension contained therein. In her view, the material becomes the center of a new spirit coming from the Earth and as a being per se, as well as a natural asset leading the viewer to something emotionally shared.

"When I look at clay, when I touch it, when sometimes I taste it, I try to feel, to sense the secret message of this marvelous material, to understand the power of clay. Clay is not just any material, it is something living.”

In her studio in Paris, Futamura is surrounded by her creations of varying sizes, ranging from large and abstract sculptures to smaller functional and decorative objects. Known to be one of the oldest earthenware traditions in the world, Japanese traditional ceramics - the yakimono - encompasses a multitude of languages, from utility wares to aesthetically pleasing sculptures. Informed by such heritage, each of Futamura's objects embodies a unique identity and energy, comprising an idea of art that honors the spirit of art living, moving fluidly between function and form.

Yoshimi Futamura studied in Japan at the School of Ceramic Art in Seto from 1979–82 and then graduated from the Centre Artisanal de Céramique de L’Ecole Duperré in Paris in 1994, where she still lives. Her artworks can be found in public collections worldwide, including the Harn Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the AIC Ariana Museum in Geneva, the Yale University Art Gallery, and The Brooklyn Museum. Among her recent exhibitions, were the collective shows Migration(s) at Musée Ariana (Zurich, 2023), Toucher le Feu at Musée Guimet (Paris, 2022), and Retour au Japon at Le Don Du Fel (Du Fel, 2022).

Yoshimi Futamura at the Milano Design Week

The strength of Futamura's art lies in the kaleidoscopic landscape of natural and organic shapes, in the clash of emotions rising from her pieces, and in the perfect balance between emptiness and fullness. On the occasion of the Milano Design Week 2023, a selection of iconic pieces from her most renowned series has been part of Molteni&C's inspiring stand at the Salone del Mobile, as well as featured in a beautiful article in AD Italy special issue honoring the splendid imperfection of Futamura’s oeuvre and the harmonious relationship with the creative environment of KALPA.

Superb collection of Futamura's sculptures in the AMAN New York unique interiors

As if planted by nature itself, a large selection of Futamura's works from different series has been sensitively integrated into the minimal interiors of the understated elegance of AMAN New York hotel, notably for the entrance hall of the private dining rooms of the Japanese restaurant NAMA. Among them, the sculptures from the series Rebirth embody the Japanese appreciation of Nature's unpredictability and imperfections, and the consequent acceptance of the harsh natural forces beyond our control that threatens to extinguish everything ... even the desire for rebirth. 

Photos of the artworks: Vittorio Marrucci for KALPA

Photos of Futamura at AMAN: Olga Niescier for KALPA

KALPA INSTAGRAM