43. Futamura Yoshimi  フタムラ ヨシミ

Yoshimi Futumura was born in Nagoya in 1959 and studied in Japan at the School of Ceramic Art in Seto and then at the Centre Artisanal de l'Ecole Duperrein in Paris where she graduated in 1984. Two years later, she opened her studio in Paris where she has lived and worked since 1986.  She is inspired by nature and her sculptures reflect this, although not in a naturalistic way. Her use of natural, organic textures are combined with traditional forms, creating unique works of art that are both functional and sculptural, but more importantly are a reflection of her artistic self.  To achieve this, Yoshimi Futumura uses a mix of stoneware clay and a mixture of fired and roughly granulated porcelain, sometimes inlaid with feldspar, and enriched with cobalt and iron oxide glazes. The texture of her unique forms appears to be burnt, creased and scratched throughout, but are in fact expressions within the concept of wabi sabi, or imperfect, incomplete beauty. The irregularity of her pieces only enhances their meditative quality, and in this Yoshimi Futumura's work is completely Japanese, although she has lived and worked in France for many years. Yoshimi Futumura has exhibited all over the world, had numerous exhibitions, and her work is included in the collection of the Harn Museum of Art in Forida, the AIC Ariana Museum in Geneva, the Yale University Gallery, and the Brooklyn Museum, among others.