Shingo Muramoto

Born in Ishikawa in 1970. Muramoto majored in the lacquer art, the department of crafts at Tokyo University of the Arts. He is familiar with the technique of Buddhist statue making called the dry lacquer technique, which has been handed down since the Nara period (AD710–794). The technique and the materials, bamboo and lacquer, are combined to fuse the glossy surface, beautiful shape and lightness as if the work floats in the air. Stretching the cloth while bending the bamboo and applying lacquer, the beautiful curved surface is accidentally created. The lacquer that has been applied in multiple layers and polished gives off a glossy and fresh brightness, creating a rich expression. With the aim of using a form inspired by the appearance of branches and leaves in the natural world, he explores to express the coexistence of nature and humans.