Mariko kusumoto biography definition

First presented in 1988, the Bridge Exhibition Series was established to heighten the public’s awareness of the powerful work being produced by contemporary artists. Over the course of the series, Contemporary Craft has presented solo exhibitions by 28 contemporary craft artists, highlighting techniques in a broad range of media including clay, metal, fiber, wood and glass.

Three female artists from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds who are creating exceptional works that express progressive and unconventional points of view around social, political and philosophical themes have been selected for the 2011 Bridge Exhibition Series. Chosen for the high level of their craftsmanship, the series will feature solo exhibitions by Lia Cook (fiber), Mariko Kusumoto (metal), and Anne Drew Potter (ceramics). Crossing geographic and gender boundaries, these artists will engage audiences in a dialogue about the influence of race, gender and culture on contemporary art production.

Read the full press release here.

Mariko Kusumoto

Japanese-born metalsmith, Mariko Kusumoto, creates intimate metal environments that evoke the rich, sensual Japanese culture of her childhood. A brilliant technician, she masterfully fabricates and embellishes boxes using a variety of techniques including etching, electroforming, and patination. With astounding attention to detail she explores interior spaces, deftly transforming each compartment into interactive miniature theaters, revealing figures and objects with dozens of movable parts, rotating gears, and musical mechanisms. She comments, “In my work, I am striving to create a world of shadows, light, silence, spirituality, and my personal memories. My father is a Buddhist priest, and I grew up in a temple that was founded four hundred years ago. While living in the temple, I took the place for granted and didn’t think anything special of it. However, the

Mariko Kusumoto is a Japanese designer whose creations fascinate with their finesse and uniqueness. Born in 1967 in Kumamoto (Japan), she grew up in a 400-year-old Buddhist temple on the island of Kyushu, surrounded by lush vegetation and serenity. After studying in Japan (Musashino Art University, Tokyo), she left for the United States where she continued her artistic training (Academy of Art University, San Francisco). Drawing inspiration from her childhood memories, Kusumoto draws her ideas from the source of what shapes her personality. Her practice of metal, like that of  resin and textile fibers, denotes a great technical complexity. Her work with fibers is inspired by natural forms and gives rise to objects and jewelry whose effects of transparency, delicacy and lightness enchantingly evoke the flora and fauna of the marine world. The anemones, sea urchins, corals and other species that inhabit her creations adopt soft, pastel hues, enough to make you want to take a dip in these imaginary waters.

Mariko Kusumoto’s website: www.marikokusumoto.com
Instagram: @marikokusumoto
© Mariko Kusumoto

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist.

MK: I was born and raised in Japan. Where I grew up in a 400-year-old temple, I was always surrounded by the beauty of nature. As a child, I spent a lot of time outside, especially in the temple’s graveyard, playing with dirt, insects, plants, etc. I was pretty much a nature girl. I was always making things with whatever materials were available, such as my mother’s fabrics, paper and plants. I also drew. I have always had a creative inclination.

When I was 15, I decided to become an artist, so I went to a secondary school that offered a fine art major. There, I gained knowledge about several forms of art, including design, sculpture and painting, and I also studied art history. I had a terrific experience there, and after that I attended an art college. So, I was determined to be an artist from an early age.

After I graduated from art college in Japan, I relocated to the United States and attended graduate school at an arts university. Now, I live and work in Massachusetts.

X-RAY MAG: Why marine life and themes inspired by the sea? How did you come to these themes and how did you develop your style of sculpture?

MK: I like the translucency and the lightness of the type of fabric I use. The sensibility, subtlety, ethereality, fragility and ambiguity are the essential parts of my work, and the fabric can achieve these elements.

I am interested in nature in general, but after I looked closer at marine life, I realized that my artistic style totally fitted an ocean theme.

X-RAY MAG: Who or what has inspired you and your artwork and why?

MK: Fabric itself is incredibly inspiring to me. In my daily life, encountering various kinds of materials is really important to me. I occasionally come across fabrics that mesmerize me, draw me in, and spark my creativity.

Being commonplace, fabric is a familiar material we see every day. Even wh