Mitsukuni Takimoto

Born in 1952 in Fukuoka, Mitsukuni Takimoto moved to Milan, Italy in 1977 to study under Tomonori Toyofuku, a sculptor active at the time. Takimoto has since dedicated himself to wood sculpture while adhering to traditional techniques, and is also skilled in the restoration of Buddhist sculptures. In the 1980s, influenced by Toyofuku, Takimoto worked on abstract sculptural reliefs. However, in the 1990s, he shifted toward a more representational style that focused on subjects such as waterfalls, rivers, clouds, and smoke - imagery that lingers in the viewer's mind like an afterimage. Although his works are representational, the chisel marks left on the surface of these fluid shapes are a reminder of the act of making and a symbolic representation of the effort to capture indeterminate images. Takimoto's works have gained recognition both in Japan and abroad. In 2017, his solo exhibition "The Breath of Wood: Mitsukuni Takimoto Exhibition" was held at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.