• NAKAMURA Yoko

    Link to: Nakamura Yoko Website

    CAREER1950
    Born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. JAPAN
    1971
    Graduated from the Department of Japanese Linguistics & Literature, Toyoko Gakuen Women’s College.
    1972
    Graduated from the Advanced Course of the Department of Home Economics, Toyoko Gakuen Women’s College.
    1976
    Met NAKAMURA Kimpei and was introduced to the fascination of ceramics.

    PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS:
    2014
    “Whistle-whistle. Tap-tap. – Ugh Spider – ” Le Deco, Tokyo
    2011
    “Do not want you to say it’s unexpected. – A pigeon and a bean – “ Le Deco, Tokyo
    2009
    “I can see the truth at Last. – A wooden box and a mesh -“ Gallery Natsuka, Tokyo
    2007
    “Slight Difference” Art Gallery C Square of Chukyo University, Aichi
    2004
    “Stainless Steel Mesh Collaboration” SATOSHI TANAKA, Tokyo
    2003
    “Tokyo ware vs. Mesh work / An Installation Collaboration by Kimpei and Yoko Nakamura -The Tactile, Decoration and Transparency-” Gallery Natsuka, Tokyo
    2000
    “Suspended Bodies – Inside” Gallery Natsuka, Tokyo
    “Suspended Bodies – Outward” Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo
    1992
    “Forms of Clay and Mesh – Cloud Negatives” GALLERY WHITE ART, Tokyo

    SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
    2017
    Three People Exhibition “Accessories and/or Decorations” Galerie wa2, Tokyo
    2016
    “Auspicious Celebration of Lives” Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Oita
    2009
    “International Project 2009 WOMAN POWER” Hanjoen Art Center, Korea
    2006
    Outdoor Exhibition “Amabiki Village and Sculpture 2006” Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki（’08/ ’11/ ’13/ ’15 )
    “Stylishness of Contemporary Ceramics – Focusing on East Japan artists” Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum
    2005
    “The 40th international Ceramic and Sculpture Boleslawiec 2004” POLAND, Ceska Republik
    2001
    “A Shriek from an Invisible Box” Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo
    2000
    “Fusion – Ceramic 21” Mokpo International Ceramics Pre-Expo 2000, Invited Artists Exhibition, KOREA
    1993
    “Annex Shigaraki ’93” Shiga Prefectural Museum of Modern Art Gallery

    COLLABORATION:
    2018
    Ryo Kato and Yoko Nakamura “House on the sea” Toki Art Space, Tokyo

    ARTIST IN RESIDENCE:
    2004
    “The 40th International Ceramics and Sculpture Workshop Boleslawiec 2004” POLAND
    1993
    The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shiga

    WORKSHOP:
    1998
    Workshop at Kyung Hee University Art Dept., Ceramics Course, KOREA
    PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
    Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo
    Argentine Museum of Modern Art, The House of Japan, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA

    AWARD:
    1995
    The Special Juror Prize of The 4th International Ceramics Competition Mino, Gifu

  • Pupas and a Cocoon in the sound of a chirping mole cricket

    Stainless Steel Mesh, Wood, Synthetic Fiber


    67×67×190 (h)cm　×2

    繭　430×240×180 (h)cm

  • Into the deep red cloud !

    stainless steel stay, Stainless steel mesh


    150×80×120 (h)cm

    　80×80×60 (h)cm

  • “Under a deep blue sky, there is a wisp of cloud. Whistle-whistle, Tap-tap”

    Stainless steel mesh


    530×470×190 (h)cm


    In a thick forest, a spider stands under a quiet tree trunk. And I
    hear the song of Yashiko Baba, it snuggles up to me.
    When a child asks, ‘Moku-san, what is this?’
    Rubbing his red nose, Moku-san replies ‘It’s a ne piece of
    clothing.’
    From ‘Kinoko no Maihime’ by IZUMI Kyoka

  • A bird flew out of a cage, Ms. Berg!

    Wood, Stainless steel mesh


    160×264×200 (h)cm


    Staring at a huge bird cage in a gazebo under a cherry blossom tree, I start to wonder whose it is, but in the next moment I realize that it doesn’t matter at all. Simply, it is a fact that I saw a bird flew away just now. A bird cage and I, we both remain standing as if nothing happened in the air.

  • Let’s Talk About Thailand in the Pavilion

    Wood, Stainless steel mesh


    452×1,120×230 (h)cm


    In spring this year I visited Thailand, and I imagine that is what inspired me. I was fascinated with the structure of this Old Pavilion and how it skirts the boundaries between inside and out, seeming to at once reveal and conceal the surrounding landscape. I wanted to explore the relationship between “suspension” and “esting” as I recreated this carefully preserved structure in this new space.

  • May they Bloom with the Sacred Lotus – An Homage to Two Mothers

    Wood, Stainless Steel Mesh, Synthetic Fiber


    3250×2500×130 (h)cm


    This site is at a plateau in Amabiki Village. I love the ever-changing scenery of this place, where a 1400-square meter marsh gently melds into the surrounding forest. I’ll never forget when I first laid eyes on the marsh, a meeting that inspired me to create objects that could float upon its surface — wire mesh bodies suspended on a raft along with giant synthetic fiber leaves which I arranged to resemble a Lotus flower. The weight of the water, the movement of the wind, the power of buoyancy — these are all concepts I wished to weave into this piece.