Aiko Miyawaki

Aiko Miyawaki (Tokyo, 1929 – Yokohama, 2014)

Giuliano Gori discovered the work of Aiko Miyawaki during his time as an advisor to the EPAD Committee (L’Établissement public pour l’aménagement de la région de la Défense) for the integration of public artworks in the new Grande Arche de la Défense area in Paris. Invited to Celle, the artist stated that she needed a vast open field to place her slender stainless steel cables directly into the ground, on discs constructed to accommodate them. These almost transparent designs float with the air currents and are part of the artist’s extensive research with the “utsurohi” series, a term in Japanese denoting a type of sea breeze and connoting the concept of change.

Miyawaki returned to Celle multiple times, always accompanied by her husband, the architect ArataIsozaki, who even conducted preliminary studies for an exhibition space to be realized on the property. In 1999, the Japanese couple generously received the delegation from the Gori Collection visiting Tokyo during the first installation of an exhibition dedicated to Celle, which, within a year, would travel to five Japanese museums.

“In a sense, Aiko Miyawaki uses her wires and the sky in a way reminiscent of Lucio Fontana’s gestureswhen he opened and cut the canvases, as if she is trying to break the azure of the sky. The stainless steel cables, which unravel and oscillate in the air, convey a sense of freedom, ductility, and movement in a line that cuts across the vastness of the skies. These multiple lines trace unalterable designs on the face of the sky while allowing their trajectory to flow freely.” Geneviève Monnier, translated from the text in “L’art et la ville. Un dessin sur l’espace,” Skira, Geneva, 1990, p.137.

Works by the artist

Utsurohi

For more info:

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