Kojiro Yoshiaki
What I want to express in my work is the most dynamic state in which a structure or form can be. As a material, it has been my great fortune to encounter foaming glass, with its uncontrollable expansions and deflation.
I combine glass powder with a foaming agent, such as calcium carbonate or copper oxide in a fireproof plaster mold, and then fire it for casting at around 820°C in an electric kiln. The melting glass confines the gas that the additive releases inside, and the mold is filled with foamed glass gradually — like baking bread. I open the door of the kiln to abruptly solidify the foaming glass. Although the piece cools quickly, it retains its shape, but has become a porous lump of glass with strong tensile stresses from forcibly stopping the expansion. I remove the plaster mold and fire the piece again for slumping at around 700°C. The tensile stresses are released, causing shrinking and cracking. The glass collapses under its own weight, and the spaces between the porous parts merge.
I have come to conclude that this transformation is a life cycle. In the natural world, objects are always changing. As transformed materials are exposed to air or heat, they change in appearance or texture at their own pace. However, when compared to other materials, it is said that glass is artificial and does not age. My goal is to create forms that express transformation and the natural properties of glass.
b. 1968, Chiba, Japan
Kojiro Yoshiaki began his career as an architect at Tokyo University of Science. In his thirties, after experimenting with foamed glass as an architectural material, he decided to make a career change and became a glass artist. His scientific, regimented approach has led him to create work that captures the textural movement of glass, seemingly frozen in time.
Kojiro’s work has been featured in many solo, duo, and group exhibitions since 2001. His recent awards include an honorable mention at the LOWE Craft Prize, the Ropez International Prize, and the Bavarian State Prize at the Internationale Handwerksmesse Munich.
Kojiro’s process includes grinding glass into a fine powder, combining it with foaming agents, firing it in a kiln, and rapidly cooling the glass. While this process is strictly regimented, the shape of the final product is left up to chance. “My work is to present a product that is formed by the interaction of glass, tiny bubbles, heat, and gravity. It is my greatest interest to extract structure from this process, and through my works, I hope to emphasize suggestion rather than description.”
-
2003
Post Graduate Study, Tokyo Glass Art Institute, Kanagawa, Japan
-
1994
M.Eng. in Architecture, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
-
1992
B.Eng. in Architecture, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
Experience
-
2012 – 2016
Lecturer, Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan
-
2010
Invited artist, CAMGERAN 2010 Applied Glass Symposium, Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey
-
1994 – 2000
Gendaikeikaku Architectural & Planning Office, Tokyo, Japan
Awards & Fellowships
-
2017
Special Mention, LOEWE Craft Prize
-
2016
Honorable Mention, The International Exhibition of Glass, Kanazawa, Japan
-
2015
Ropex International Prize, Glass ’15 in Japan
-
2012
Young Generation Prize, Glass ’12 in Japan
Prize winner, “OBJECT,” International Glass Prize 2012, Glazen Huis, Lommel, Belgium
Gold Medal, Bavarian State Prize, International Trade Fair, Munich, Germany -
2008
Honorable Mention, Dai-ichi Museum Contemporary Glass Competition, Aichi, Japan
-
2006
4th Chiba City Art and Culture New Artist Award, Chiba, Japan
-
2004
Grand Prize, The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan
-
2003-06
Fellowship, Kanazawa Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo, Glass Workshop, Ishikawa, Japan
Select Solo & Two Person Exhibitions
-
2019
Two person exhibition (with Yasuhiro Kado), New Century Craft Museum, Seto City⠀
-
2017
Solo exhibition, Ginza Bricks Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Formes en blank (with Bae Sejin), MOUVEMENTS MODERNES, Paris, France
Two person exhibition (with Tomohiro Kano), Tokyo Gallery+BTAP, Japan -
2015
Solo exhibition, Gallery O2, Tokyo, Japan
-
2014
Solo exhibition, Gallery AN, Ibaraki, Japan
-
2013
Two person exhibition (with Runa Kosogawa), Gallery NOW, Toyama, Japan
Solo exhibition, Ginza Bricks Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Solo exhibition, Gallery O2, Tokyo, Japan -
2012
Solo exhibition, Gallery Tsubaki, Chiba, Japan
-
2011
Solo exhibition, Ginza Bricks Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Solo exhibition, Isogaya i. space, Tokyo, Japan -
2010
Two person exhibition (with Masao Kozumi), Grass Hopper GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan
Solo exhibition, Gallery Tsubaki, Chiba, Japan -
2009
Solo exhibition, café & galerie NAJA, Chiba, Japan
Solo exhibition, Galleria ACCa, Tokyo, Japan -
2008
Solo exhibition, Gallery Tsubaki, Chiba, Japan
-
2007
Solo exhibition, café & galerie NAJA, Chiba, Japan
-
2006
Solo exhibition (curated by Motohiko Fujii), Art Interactive Tokyo, Japan
-
2005
Solo exhibition, Gallery Yukomori, Nagano, Japan
-
2004
Solo exhibition, Gallery ES, Tokyo, Japan
Select Group Exhibitions
-
2017
Loewe Craft Prize Exhibition, COAM, Madrid, Spain (travelled to Chamber Gallery, New York, NY, 21_21 Design Sight, Tokyo, Japan)
TRESOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT (curated by ESH GALLERY), Messe Basel, Switzerland
Kokoro – Japanisches Glas heute, Glasmuseum Frauenau, Germany
Sincerity 2017: Korea Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Gangneung Museum of Art, S. Korea
lebenswelt | life-world, Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Munich, Germany -
2016
Contemporary Glass Representation Exhibition vol.2, Dai-ichi Museum, Aichi, Japan
Sincerity 14+14: Korea Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Korean Cultural Center, Tokyo, Japan -
2015
I’ve Got Glass! I’ve Got Life!, Toyama Glass Art Museum (Inaugural Exhibition), Japan
Tama Art University Glass Works, Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Kanazawa, Japan -
2014
iGlass: Japanese contemporary glass exhibition, LEVANT ART, Shanghai, China
COLLECT (curated by Exhibition Space APJ), Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
The Method of 4 Creators, Session House, Tokyo, Japan
The futurology of glass molding, Gallery O2, Tokyo, Japan -
2013
+7 exhibition, Office339, Shanghai, China
-
2012
The Manifestations of Method (curated by Masayuki Hashimoto), Gallery Ryokurinkan, Saitama, Japan
Modern Masters (curated by Handwerkskammer), International Trade Fair, Munich, Germany -
2011
Sumi-paintings by Toko Shinoda and Contemporary Glass Works, Rakusui-tei Museum of Art, Toyama, Japan
The Metamorphosis of Glass, Gallery VOICE, Gifu, Japan -
2010
16 Glass Objects, ORIE Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
FROZEN-IN TENSION, Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Munich, Germany
The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa, Korinbo-Daiwa & Notojima Glass Art Museum, Japan -
2009
Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Kanazawa, Japan
The Metamorphosis of Glass, Gallery VOICE, Gifu, Japan
61in3 + 1/8, Gallery Ten, Ishikawa, Japan
New Glass Review 31, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
ART SELECTION NOW vol.3, Gallery NOW, Toyama, Japan -
2008
New Glass Review 30, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
AACA +7 exhibition, Architectural Institute of Japan, Tokyo, Japan -
2007
The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa, Korinbo-Daiwa & Notojima Glass Art Museum, Japan
Allure of Japanese Glass (curated by Harumi Yukutake & Tomoko Aoki), Pittsburgh Glass Center, PA
AACA +7 exhibition, Architectural Institute of Japan, Tokyo, Japan -
2006
The 8th Oita Asian Sculpture Exhibition, Asakura Fumio Memorial Hall, Oita, Japan
VESSELS, Koganezaki Glass Museum, Shizuoka, Japan -
2005
TOYAMURA International Sculpture Biennale, Toya General Center, Hokkaido, Japan
2nd Contemporary Glass Triennial, Toyama Civic Plaza Art Gallery, Toyama, Japan
New Glass Review 27, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY -
2004
2nd Contemporary Glass Art Exhibition 2004 in ONODA, Onoda Sun Park, Yamaguchi, Japan
Select Collections
-
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
The European Museum of Modern Glass, Coburg, Germany
Ernsting Stiftung Alter Hof Herding, Coesfeld, Germany
Contemporary Glass Arts Museum, Eskisehir, Turkey
The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Munich, Germany
Lommel City, Belgium
Dai-ichi Museum, Aichi, Japan
Toyama Glass Art Museum, Toyama, Japan
Kanazawa Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo, Ishikawa, Japan
What I want to express in my work is the most dynamic state in which a structure or form can be. As a material, it has been my great fortune to encounter foaming glass, with its uncontrollable expansions and deflation.
I combine glass powder with a foaming agent, such as calcium carbonate or copper oxide in a fireproof plaster mold, and then fire it for casting at around 820°C in an electric kiln. The melting glass confines the gas that the additive releases inside, and the mold is filled with foamed glass gradually — like baking bread. I open the door of the kiln to abruptly solidify the foaming glass. Although the piece cools quickly, it retains its shape, but has become a porous lump of glass with strong tensile stresses from forcibly stopping the expansion. I remove the plaster mold and fire the piece again for slumping at around 700°C. The tensile stresses are released, causing shrinking and cracking. The glass collapses under its own weight, and the spaces between the porous parts merge.
I have come to conclude that this transformation is a life cycle. In the natural world, objects are always changing. As transformed materials are exposed to air or heat, they change in appearance or texture at their own pace. However, when compared to other materials, it is said that glass is artificial and does not age. My goal is to create forms that express transformation and the natural properties of glass.
