Chie Aoki
PROJECT
Chie Aoki uses the durable material of lacquer to express, in her words, ‘lonely human existence’. Aoki’s lacquer works replace the traditional base material of wood with styrofoam, which the artist sculpts into the form of her own body. She then applies lacquer, progressively building up and polishing more than thirty layers, each less than 0.1 mm thick. Aoki sees this gradual process as a meditation on protecting oneself from the outside world: ‘My works depict people feeling anxiety, fear and loneliness, shutting themselves away in a shell, existing quietly and silently.’ When finished, the hard and reflective lacquer surface has transformed a weak and vulnerable form into a strong and beautiful representation of humanity.
The acquisition of this artist’s work is supported by Lucas Family Foundation
ABOUT
Chie Aoki completed her doctorate at Kanazawa College of Art in 2010, where she is currently an associate professor. She also has her studio in Kanazawa. Major exhibitions include Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (US), FEMINISMS at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Japan), and Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming & Going at the MORI ART MUSEUM, Tokyo (Japan). Her work is held in the collections of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Japan), the National Crafts Museum, Kanazawa (Japan), the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota (US), and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (UK).