Satoru Koizumi

The rich histories of Japanese wood carving are central to Koizumi’s practice. When Buddhism was first introduced to the country, most Buddhas were made in gilt bronze, but soon carvings made from the trees abundant in Japan’s natural landscape became the norm. In time, the increasing popularity of Zen Buddhism - which rejected idolatry - saw many sculptors switch their attention to creating architectural elements for temples and shrines. Throughout the country’s modernisation, and an influx of international influences in the last century, wood carving has remained an important part of Japanese heritage: from emblematic structures such as Nikko Toshogu shrine to tea ceremony tools and other everyday domestic objects. Koizumi continues this legacy with his own contemporary take on traditional techniques. His wooden sculptures are, at a glance, lovable and endearing, but also reveal their creator’s reflections on the diversity of today’s society and its symbiotic yet destructive relationship with nature.

Throughout Koizumi’s practice the idea of kawaii is subtly critiqued. In today's Japan, the word kawaii - which directly translates as ‘cute’ - covers a wide range of subjects and, as a result, its definition is becoming increasingly vague. With the export of Japanese subcultures across the globe, the word has come to be understood as an aesthetic style epitomised by icons like Hello Kitty and Pikachu. However, in Koizumi’s work child-like, ‘cute’ expressions are paired with muted palettes and grainy textures — in stark contrast to the saturated consumerism of kawaii aesthetics.

The human psyche and its environment are entwined in Koizumi’s work. Throughout his oeuvre, lone characters are tinged with a feeling of melancholy and isolation via their dampened expressions and lack of companions. For Koizumi this highlights that, while negative emotions may be inherent to the human condition, they are further compounded by the societies - driven by ‘individuality’ and profit - in which we now live. In this sense, Koizumi connects mental health and spirituality (or lack thereof) to wider societal structures. Encompassing contradictory elements of tradition and innovation, strength and weakness, nature and civilisation, society and the individual, Koizumi’s sculpture is a beautiful yet cautionary exploration of the human condition. In his own words, “it is not about which way is better or worse, but the way of life itself.”