A native of Nagoya, Yoshimi Futamura first studied ceramics at the Seto School of Ceramics, where she trained in the region’s historical ceramic techniques. However, it was after moving to Paris in 1986 that she developed her unique technique and aesthetic. She applies porcelain slip to the surface of her powerful, roughly hewn forms before manipulating the clay from the inside in order to create her signature striated and crevassed surface texture.
Futamura, invariably draws her inspiration from nature. She has created several series of work over the past decade with titles such as Racines (roots), Rhizomes, and Vagues de terre (Earthen Waves). Her sculptural forms are intended to be reflections of nature and are infused with a vibrant living essence. She uses a blend of stoneware clays and a mixture of fired and raw granulated porcelain to create her collapsed rounded forms that appear both vegetal and geological in origin. These forms are sometimes encrusted with feldspar, and enhanced with cobalt and iron oxide glazes on the interior that are sometimes iridescent.
Futamura’s work can be found in museum collections internationally, including the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Brooklyn Museum; Minneapolis Institute of Art; and Musée Guimet, Paris. She has also been featured in the traveling exhibition, Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan.
