Studio Visit: Iede Takahiro

 

 

 

 

 

As an extension of our current metalwork exhibition Earth, Air, Fire & Water, Onishi Gallery is delighted to share with you an intimate studio visit of metalwork artist, Iede Takahiro. He is renowned for applying bamboo weaving techniques to metalwork, a method that he later coined aya-origane.  Behind the glossy and seemingly perfect exterior of his work are the hundreds and even thousands of hours that the artist spent laboring over each piece. We hope to offer a glimpse into Iede's unique process and further explore the inspirations and origins behind his truly dazzling designs.

 

 

 

 

 

First, the artist cuts thin strips of shakudō (gold and copper alloy) and shibuichi (silver and copper alloy) out of a flat sheet of metal that will later be woven together. He then heats and hammers each strip, crimping them along its length and tightly weaving the strips into his desired pattern. Finally, Iede carefully pours pours ginrō, a silver adhesive onto the piece, which melts into the grooves of the metal strips due to its lower melting point.

 

 

 It took the artist over two months to shape Hibiki (pictured below) for this process alone. 

 

 

 

Iede commented, “Because I included the white, undecorated portion of the vessel, Ritsu feels softer and more graceful than some of my previous work.”