Born in Kiryu, Japan, in 1977,
Yoshihiko Murata 村田佳彥 obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Kanazawa College of Art in 2001 and completed his training in Kanazawa Utatsuyama Craft Workshop in 2005.

 

Murata’s work relies heavily on the external play of light that creates silhouettes that continue his forms and flow indistinguishably from the sculptural pieces themselves. This engaging illusion teases one’s perception of where the black lacquer ends and the shadow begins.

 

He applies more than 20 coats of lacquer on each lacquerware, and each polished coat required time to dry, which makes each piece several months to complete. His good mastery of lacquering led him to develop his recent lyrical Silhouette Series, the pieces creates lines that twist and turn, swell and fade, like the sounds from a musical instrument.

 

Murata has exhibited extensively both in his native Japan and overseas countries such as Italy, Germany, and United States of America. The Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minnesota has acquired his work.