Learning from the past
The Ashura statue of linen and urushi marks the start of composite material art. Inspired by the past, rei is based on revolving human curves crafted of next generation urushi. Craftsmanship renders palpable the strength and luxuriance of carbon composites.
’ Spending my childhood in America, I was always interested in car styling. Also I started playing Cello at the time and discovered through this the beauty of the violin family. My interest started to grow for old and new car design as opposed to forms unchanged for hundreds of years. One of these designs being the violin to which, while unchanged in design each crafting artist will leave traces of individuality. This led to my quest for design, which is consistent and unaltered by trends. During my time spent in Milano I understood that as a part of this quest my roots as a Japanese were essential for my design work. The shape of rei could be set in a Japanese inner ward 300 years ago, or found in a space station in 300 years from now without seeming misplaced. While the materials are futuristic, the crafting origins can be traced back to age old buddhist statues. To extract the charme of the universal materials used, I searched for a pure and beautiful form. rei transports the pride and dialog of the professionals involved in its production. rei transcends time and space and I hope it will be loved and appreciated. ’ Keita Shimizu, 2010
Credit title “ Photograph by Takumi Ota “ needed for images no.01~07.
No credit title needed for image x.