Tokujin Yoshioka

Tokujin Yoshioka
Born	(1967-01-20) January 20, 1967 Saga Prefecture, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Known for	Design, Contemporary Art
Website	www.tokujin.com

Tokujin Yoshioka, born January 20, 1967, is a Japanese designer and artist. 

Active in the fields of design, contemporary art and architecture, with works transcending human senses and themed in nature, he is highly acclaimed globally.

He has won many international design awards with many of his works chosen as part of permanent collections in world renowned museums including Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Le Centre national d’art et de culture Georges-Pompidou (Centre Pompidou) in Paris, and Victoria and Albert Museum in London.^[1]

He was chosen by Newsweek magazine as one of the 100 Most Respected Japanese in the World.^[2]

Profile & Biography

Born in Saga Prefecture, Japan in 1967.

Since childhood, influenced by Leonardo Da Vinci, learnt painting, such as oil painting, and had particular interest in Science. 

After graduating from Kuwasawa Design School, Tokyo in 1986, studied under designers, Shiro Kuramata and Issey Miyake.

Established Tokujin Yoshioka Inc. in 2000.

Active in the fields of design, contemporary art and architecture, with works transcending human senses and themed in nature, he is highly acclaimed globally.

By giving figure to various human senses, using immaterialistic elements, such as light, sound and smell, creates expressions that is unique, surpassing the concept of shape.

His work is by no means restricted to the mere recreation of the beauty of nature. By introducing experimental methods into his expressions of natural energy, scientific principles and the elements of natural structure, he creates stunning works which transcend human senses in that those who come in contact with them experience them personally, via their own memory and senses. His works also reflect concept of nature inherently Japanese, pursuing roots of Japanese culture that perceptualize natural energy and aura.    

He has designed for Issey Miyake and other global companies such as Cartier, Swarovski, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Toyota, and Lexus, and has been announcing new works at Salone del Mobile Milano^[3](world’s largest international furniture exhibition) in collaboration with Italian furniture brands, including Kartell, Moroso, Glas Italia and Driade.    

He has won many international awards, including Design Miami Designer of the Year, presented to a designer who has made the most significant contribution to design globally, Elle Deco International Design Awards Designer of the Year and Milano Design Award.    

Representative works

Chairs created out of natural structure 2001ー

Paper chair 'Honey-pop' (2000) is a chair that changes shape from plane to 3 dimensional. By spreading open a 1cm layer of 120 layers of thin paper, a honeycomb structure is born, and only when a person sits on it, the shape is fixed and the work is completed. ^[4] 'PANE chair' (2006) is made like fiberous structure of plants, creating a structure with thin fibers of 1mm intertwining. During the production process, a block made of fibers is placed in a paper duct and put in oven as if baking a bread and by adding heat, the form of chair is shape memorized and completed. Chair made of natural crystals 'Venus - Natural crystal chair' (2008) is a work that is transformed into a chair by growing natural crystals in a water tank to create crystalline structure.    

Glass projects 2002ー

Has announced starting with glass bench 'Water Block' (2002), 'Transparent Japanese House '(2002), 'Chair that disappears in the rain' (2002), 'Waterfall' (2005-2006), 'KOU-AN – Glass Tea House' (2015), 'Water Block-KATANA' (2017). Glass bench 'Water Block' has been exhibited at Musée d'Orsay in Paris since 2011.

Musée d' Orsay, Paris, 2011ー

At Musée d' Orsay in Paris, participated in renewal project of the Impressionists Gallery. Together with works of representative Impressionists, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 10 'Water Blocks', glass bench is permanently displayed. It blend in with light painted by the Impressionists painters, creating a space that starts a new conversation between history and contemporary.^[5]

Crystallized Project 2008ー

Natural crystal chair 'Venus - Natural crystal chair' (2008) is a work in which in a water tank, natural crystals are grown to form crystalline structures and transformed into a chair. One music piece creates one painting. With crystal paintings, 'Swan Lake', 'Destiny' and 'Moonlight', music is played during the growth process of crystals and is completed when forms of crystals are changed with the vibrations of sound. 'Rose' is a sculpture crystallizing colour pigments of rose, expressing the energy of life. ^[6]

'Rainbow Church' 2010, 2013

Architecture created using more than 500 crystal prisms, the 'Rainbow Church ', focuses on human sense of light perception, and is a work that is completed when a person experiences light. It is an architecture that expresses light itself, filling the space with rainbow colors as light is dispersed by prisms.^[7]

KOU-AN – Glass Tea House 2011, 2015ー2017

At the 54th Venezia Biennnale International Art Exhibition, Glasstress 2011, the collateral event of the 54th La Biennale di Vennezia, the glass tea house – KOU-AN was presented as an architectural project and in 2015, was built on the stage (observation deck) of Shogun-zuka, a mound of Shogun, Seiryu-den, which is a precinct of Tendai Sect Shoren-in Temple.^[8] Ao (Blue) Fudo Myo-o statue, a national treasure, one of the three great Fudo, god of fire, is dedicated to Seiryu-den. From its 220 meters altitude big stage, you can enjoy a panoramic view over Kyoto city below. In the year 794, Emperor Kanmu visited this place and appreciating its basin formation (landscape) was convinced that Kyoto is the most suitable place to be designated a capital, initiating construction of the ancient capital city. So, it is said that this is the original point where ancient capital city of Kyoto, a city that symbolizes Japanese culture began. ^[9]

Representative Works

2000　Tokujin Yoshioka Design

2000　TōFU / Yamagiwa

2001　Honey-pop

2001　THINK ZONE / MORI building

2002　Water Block  

2002　Transparent Japanese House

2002ー2003　Chair that disappears in the rain

2004　Souffle / Maison Hermès

2005ー2007　MEDIASKIN / au design project KDDI

2006　The Gate – Tokujin Yoshioka x Lexus L-finesse 

2006　Waterfall

2006　PANE chair

2007　Tornado / Design Miami

2007　Rainbow chair

2007　Tear Drop / Yamagiwa

2006ー2008　Swarovski Ginza flagship store

2007ー2008　VENUS – Natural crystal chair

2007ー2008　Crystallized Painting – Moonlight / Destiny / Unfinished

2008　Eternal / Swarovski Crystal Palace

2010, 1997　Snow

2009　Moon Fragment / Cartier

2009　Lake of Shimmer / Basel World / Swarovski

2010　X-RAY / KDDI iida

2010　Stellar / Swarovski Crystal Palace

2010, 2013　Rainbow Church

2011　KOU-AN Glass Tea House / The 54th La Biennale di Venezia – Glasstress 2011

2011　The Impressionist Gallery renewal project / Musée d'Orsay 

2013　Crystallized Painting – Swan Lake, Spider's Thread, Rose

2013　Wings of Sparkle / Basel World / Swarovski

2014　Cartier Time Art – Mechanic of Passion / Power Station of Art

2015ー2017　KOU-AN Glass Tea House / Shogunzuka Seiryu-den, Kyoto

2017　Spectrum

2017　Water Block – KATANA

2017　S.F chair

Major Exhibitions

1998ー2000　ISSEY MIYAKE Making Things / Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Ace Gallery NY, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

2002　Tokujin Yoshioka Honey-pop, MDS/G

2005ー2006　Tokujin Yoshioka x Lexus L-finesse / Museum of Permanente

2005　Stardust / Swarovski Crystal Palace / Milano Design Week

2007　Tornado / Design Miami / Designer of the year 2007

2007　Tokujin x Moroso / Milano Design Week

2009　Story of … Memories of Cartier Creations / Tokyo National Museum Hyokeikan

2008　Second Nature / 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT

2010　Sensing Nature / Mori Art Museum 2010　The Invisibles Snowflake / Kartell Gallery

2011　TWILIGHT - Tokujin Yoshioka / Moroso / Milano Design Week

2011　Tokujin Yoshioka : Waterfall / Sharman Contemporary Art Foundation 

2011　KOU-AN Glass Tea House / The 54th La Biennale di Venezia – Glasstress 2011

2011ー2012, 2014　Cartier Time Art / Bellerive Museum, Artscience Museum, Power Station of Art

2012　TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA 2012 CREATOR OF THE YEAR / Maison & Objet

2013　TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA_Crystallize / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

2014　La Biennale di Venezia – The 14^th International Architecture Exhibition 2014

2015　Make Yourself Comfortable / Chatsworth House

2015　TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA_TORNADO / Saga Prefectural Art Museum

2015ー2017　KOU-AN Glass Tea House / Shogunzuka Seiryu-den, Kyoto

2017　TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA_SPECTRUM / Shiseido Gallery

2017　TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA x LG : S.F_Senses of the Future / Milano Design Week

Permanent Collection    

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (USA)

Centre Pompidou (Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou) (France)

Musée d'Orsay (France)

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (France)

Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) (UK)

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (USA)

Vitra Design Museum (Germany)

The Art Institute of Chicago (USA)

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) (USA)

Saint Louis Art Museum (USA)

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) (Canada)

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) (Japan)

Israel Museum (Israel)

Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art (Republic of Korea)    

Major Awards

1997　JCD Design Award – Grand prize (Japan)

2000　I.D. Annual Design Review (USA)

2001　I.D. Annual Design Review (USA), A&W Award The Coming Designer for the Future (Germany)

2002　Mainichi Design Award 2001 (Japan)

2005　Talents du Luxe (France)

2007　The 57th Art Encouragement Prizes for New Artiest (Japan)

2007　Good Design Award – Gold prize (Japan)

2007　Design Miami – Designer of the Year 2007 (USA)

2008　Wallpaper Design Awards 2008 – Best furniture designer (UK)

2008　DFA Design for Asia Awards 2008 – Grand Award (Hong Kong)

2009　ELLE DECO International Design Awards – Designer of the Year 2009 (Italy)

2010　The 100 Most Creative People in Business 2010 (USA)

2010　TOKYO Design & Art ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS – Artist of the Year (Japan)

2011　A&W Architektur & Wohnen – Designer of the Year 2011 (Germany)

2012　Maison & Objet – Creator of the Year 2012 (France)

2016　ELLE DECO International Design Awards (EDIDA) 2016 (Italy)

2017　Milano Design Award 2017 – Winner (Italy)

Publications, collection of works

2001　Tokujin Design (gap / Japan)

2006　Tokujin Yoshioka Design (English edition, Japanese edition) (Phaidon / UK)

2008　Second Nature (Kyuryudo / Japan)

2009　Invisible Forms (Esquire Magazine / Japan)

2010　SENSING NATURE (Heibonsha / Japan)

2010　TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA (Rizzoli / USA)

2013　TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA_Crystallize (Seigensha / Japan)    

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tokujin Yoshioka.

• Official website