Fönsterutställning "Presenting Craft" på Konsthantverkarna 20-27 maj

PRESENTING CRAFT/

ATSUSHI SAKAI & MARIA KRISTOFERSSON

20-27 May in our window at Konsthantverkarna

We have invited one of Japans exciting wood workers to show his work together with our member, the excellent ceramicist Maria Kristofersson.

“I didn’t put much thought into my law degree or the two years spent at a company after graduation. Like many young people in Japan during the 1990s I chose to be part of society, just not an important part.” The background of Mr Sakai and his later choices in life makes him even more interesting as a maker and a person. “I came to realize that my personal development had left something to be desired. So I decided to adjust the course of my life.” Mr Sakai then started a career as a creator, a course that 20 years later takes him to Stockholm and Konsthantverkarna.

The spoon as an object came to be important very early on. As Sakai puts it “Be young, old or anywhere in between, you owe something to the spoon”.

The similar attitude towards everyday life objects can be found in the pieces by Maria Kristofersson. She works with plates and bowls that in their manner balance in between two extremes. They are delicate yet robust with a great care taken to the details.

When these two material oriented artists meet, there is an interesting tension between the objects as well as the cultural background that they spring from. We are delighted to have the opportunity to show this meeting.

Under the auspices of the Embassy of Japan in Sweden.