Patrick R. Clark Blog: Tokyo is Sparkling and Shining with Exhibitions by Tokujin Yoshioka and Mika Aoki

Monday, January 23, 2017

Tokyo is Sparkling and Shining with Exhibitions by Tokujin Yoshioka and Mika Aoki

left: Tokuijn Yoshioka | right: Mika Aoki

If you’re a fan of the sparkly and shiny, and you live in Tokyo, you’re in luck. Two (unrelated) exhibitions that opened in January are bringing a prismatic shine and a microscopic sparkle to Tokyo. And they’re just 10 minutes apart.

Tokujin Yoshioka – Spectrum

You may have heard of him. Tokujin Yoshioka is a luminary Japanese designer who is known for his experimentation with glass and crystal; combining small particles into something grand. When he’s not tied up working with global brands like Louis Vuitton, Glasitalia and Kartell, Yoshioka manages to continue his artistic work, which is on display now at the Shiseido Gallery in Ginza.

Roughly 350 years ago Sir Isaac Newton proved that white light was composed of other colors and that a prism would reveal them.
“Spectrum” (2017) is an installation of color, to say the least. In a display that would make Newton proud, resonant rainbows radiate from prisms, filling the large space with infinite colors. Even today, this mysterious light fills us with a sense of wonder and astonishment and this is the perfect way to experience it.

“Spectrum” is on display at Shiseido Gallery through March 26, 2017.

Mika Aoki – The Forest That Leads To You

Walk 10 minutes and you’ll come to another exhibition by the slightly less-known, yet equally alluring glass artist Mika Aoki. Using a process known as lampworking (in Japanese it’s “burner work”) Aoki sculpts glass into delicate representations of microscopic bacteria and cells – the invisible building blocks of life. Her transparent and sparkling work resonate with the power of life.

In her exhibition “The Forest That Leads To You,” on display at the Pola Museum Annex, Aoki presents a dynamic installation inspired by the life cycle of vegetation. Using light and glass to present the unseen connections that have resulted in billions of years of life on earth.

“The Forest That Leads To You” is on display at the Pola Museum Annex through February 26, 2017.