KYOKO KUMAI Born 1943
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Initially Kumai worked as a weaver, gradually developing her own interlacing and knotting techniques as a response to the steel and she has been working with this material for over 20 years. Her works are the antithesis of what we expect from the material, giving the impression of floating movement, a sense of weightlessness. ‘Wind From The Cloud’ is created by an interlacing technique using stainless steel filament. The resulting fabric seems, in turn, solid or transparent depending on our position in relation to it. Kumai’s continuing inspiration for her work has been the movement of air, in particular the wind moving through grass as can be seen in her piece ‘Grass’ which is made from knotted stainless steel.
Studied
- Tokyo University of Art 1966
Current Teaching Status
- Professor, Nagaoka Institute of Design
Awards
- 1975 Japan Craft Design Exhibition, Tokyo - New Talent Prize
- 1983 Japan Craft Design Exhibition, Tokyo - Excellent Prize
- 1985 Kyushu Craft Design Exhibition, Fukuoka - Grand Prix
- 1987 1st International Textile Competition, Kyoto - New Technology Prize + Governor's Prize
- 1989 ASAHI Modern Craft Exhibition, Osaka - Excellent Prize
Recent Exhibitions Include
Solo
- 1997 Gallery Maronie, Kyoto
- 1998 Senbikiya Gallery, Kyoto
- Wacoal Ginza Art Space, Tokyo
- Gallery Space 21, Tokyo
Group
- 1995 Japanese Studio Crafts: Tradition & The Avant-Garde, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
- 1996, 99 Triennale International Mini Textile, Angers Museum, France
- 1997 Challenge of Materials, Science Museum, London, UK
- 1998 International Triennale of Tapestry, Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz Poland
- 1999 Weaving the World, Yokohama Museum of Art, Kanagawa
- Mini Textile International Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain
- FUWA FUWA Wonderland, Asahikawa Art Museum, Hokkaido
- Also 1987 Biennale Internationale de la Tapisserie, Lausanne, Switzerland
Public Collections
- Savaria Museum, Hungary
- Montreal Decorative Art Museum, Canada
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Commissions Include
- Mitsubishi Juko Gotenba Training Institute, Shizuoka, Tokyo Kaijo, Tokyo Shinjuku-ku, Mikimoto Pearl Tokyo Ginza, Shiseido Head Office, Tokyo, Sumitomo Metal Co., Tokyo, Kobe Sanshi Port Bldg., Ogori City Tanabata Kaikan, Fukuoka, Hikari City Gymnasium, Yamaguchi, Hamamatsu Act City, Shizuoka
Category of Work
- Installation
Materials
