Chie Aoki (青木千絵, born 1981) is a Japanese sculptor. Her sculpture work uses mediums of cloth, foam,

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...

, and she is also known for photography on rice paper. Her sculptures commonly have the shapes of amorphous human bodies, without heads or faces.

Life

Aoki was born in 1981 in

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

, Japan. Her father was the curator of the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art and introduced her to

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...

's sculptures, which depict existential struggles. She received a degree in arts and crafts from the

Kanazawa College of Art The Kanazawa College of Art (金沢美術工芸大学, ''Kanazawa Bijutsu Kōgei Daigaku'', literally Kanazawa Art and Industrial Design University) (colloquially known as Bidai or Kanabi) is a public university in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. A ...

in 2005, and completed graduate work in 2006. She has two daughters.

Works and themes

Aoki's works are surreal and convey the idea of metamorphosis or transformation. Her sculptures often start as carved

styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and water barrie ...

blocks over which Aoki layers black lacquer, which is then polished. Aoki's work is influenced by psychological themes seen in

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...

's art.

Collections

Aoki's works have been featured in the following collections and galleries: *

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...

* CONTEXT Art Miami *

Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art is a purpose built municipal art gallery in Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was opened in 2002. The major collections of the museum are foreign and Japanese sculptures, foreign and Japanese prints, Western-style and Japanese-style ...

* Kitakata City Art Museum * LIXIL Gallery *

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

* Sokyo Gallery * Tama Art University

References

External links

Chie Aoki's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aoki, Chie Japanese women sculptors 1981 births Living people