Oceans Formed: Glass Works by Midori Tsukada

Ippodo Gallery is pleased to present “ Oceans Formed : Glass works by Midori Tsukada.” 20 will be on view for May 24 - June 21, a must-see presentation of exceptional glass and copper creations.

After years of study in both glass and welded metalwork, Midori Tsukada (b. 1972) has mastered a skillful technique that reveals pale blues and greens through a naturally occuring copper oxidation process, with occasional hints of silver and gold. The colors evolve free-form on cool toned glass, as the hues and beads evoke the gentle mist of an ocean spray, or the dew from rainfall on a forest’s leaf. This effect is delicate and ephemeral on the translucent glass, capturing a fleeting feeling even as the permanence and deceptive durability of the materials endures.

To Tsukada, that glass is a relatively new material in the field of ceramic expression brims with potential for diversity of expression. In this experimentation, the layered metals are highly unique, with an air at once of unpredictability and mystery. During the firing process, the slow heat of the kiln curves the shape of the glass, and Tsukada gathers this shape in the final result of the object, accounting for the natural rhythms and whims of the shifting form.
In the spontaneity, each object tells its own story. Natural Lace (2) suggests the curve of an ocean wave, with swirls of blue-green and flecks of gold underscored by a deep blue. Natural Lace (3) looks like a deep green pond, dipping darker into the base with beads of light green reminiscent of a surrounding forest. The open face of Natural Ground (4) curves like palms of a leaf, or open hands. The works speak; they tell stories. They allow us to question our own existence.

From ancient times, there has been a distinctly Japanese desire to coexist with nature. To capture the earthly sensations of wind and water, of forest and fire, has a profundity that does not translate to other cultures, and is hard to put into words. But the mission of artists like Tsukada is to listening the voice of nature, and attempt to achieve this heightened embodiment through art. In this, she finds her own voice, interacting with the natural world through her creations. It is the artist’s wish that the link between nature and self through glass will resonate with audiences around the world.

About the Artist

Born in Gifu, Tsukada studied metalcraft before entering Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, where she pursued her interest in combining glass and metal, completing her studies in 2002. From there, she worked as a researcher at Kanazawa Utatsuyama Craft Workshop, and as a glass assistant at Akita Public Arts and Crafts Junior College of Arts and Crafts. Beginning in 2006, she was the glass studio coordinator at Kanazawa Utatsuyama Craft Workshop, and opened her own studio in Toyama in 2011, where she continues her artistic practice today. She has received many honors and awards, from the International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa in 2001, the Contemporary Glass Triennial in Toyama in 2002, the 2007 Silver Prize at the International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa, the 2013 Gold Prize at the International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa, and many more. Following numerous exhibitions in Japan and Korea, she began showing with Ippodo Gallery in 2012. Her work has been widely collected around Japan, and most recently entered the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts in Lausanne, Switzerland.