Naoki Takeyama (1974- )

 

 

Naoki Takeyama wields the ancient and extremely difficult technique of cloisonné

enamelled metalwork with an electric modernity that calls to mind the pop-art of the

1960’s and the minimalistic, asymmetrical designs of Japanese fashion designers of the 1980’s.

Each work is made from a single copper sheet that is pinched and formed by

hand. The animated copper bodies are then decorated with numerous coats of glaze,

with each coat requiring a separate firing. After glazing, silver or gold leaf is cut out

and applied using a bamboo paddle, and fired on through separate firings. Each work

takes approximately one month to complete, and requires more than twenty

individual firings.

 

Having been head of his class in the Toyko National University of Fine Arts and Music,

Naoki Takeyama achieved the Grand Prix at the Japan Craft Exhibition in 2000 at the young age of 26, and has been winning an array of awards since then. He made his

first appearance at Collect this year, where a piece of his work was bought by the

V&A. In 2001 he received the Toyota Cultural Prize, Aichi Prefecture.

 

Public Collections

Tokyo University of the Arts, 2001

Toyota City, Aichi, Japan, 2004

Victoria & Albert Museum, 2008

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