I create works that combine science and tradition using Japanese woodcarving and lacquer techniques. My forms are based on mathematical models, possessing a pure beauty in harmony with the natural sciences. I am heavily inspired by the Kuen surface – a surface with negative curvature, where the meeting of two sides produces a clean line, devised by German mathematician Theodor Kuen.
Toshimasa Kikuchi was born in 1979 in Ehime, Japan.Trained in the restoration of Buddhist statues, mastering to perfection the techniques of classical Japanese statuary. He earned a BFA in sculpture from Tokyo Gakugei University, and later a MFA and PhD in conservation from Tokyo University of the Arts. Kikuchi creates works that combine science and tradition using Japanese woodcarving and lacquer techniques. His forms are based on mathematical models, possessing a pure beauty in harmony with the natural sciences. An example of Kikuchi’s work may be seen in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum and exhibited at Erskine Hall & Coe.
