Hirotomi Maeda Japan, 1961

Hirotomi Maeda (b. 1961) is an award-winning metalsmith whose decorative vessels are incomparable in the world of Japanese contemporary art. Equipped with a hammer and his hands, Maeda inlays alloy filaments and pounds the flat sheet metal into an oblong shape. A Professor of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of Arts, Maeda’s celebrated career includes top awards at national arts exhibitions, Japan’s Purple Ribbon, and honors including commissioned metalworks for Osaka’s Kenshoji Temple and to commemorate the ascension of Emperor Naruhito in 2019. 

Biography:

1961       Born in Ishikawa,  Japan

1989       Top award at 30th Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, Japan

2015　  Top award at 44th Exhibition Traditional Japanese Metalwork, Japan

2018  　Top award at 65th Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, Japan

2019　  Received Medal with Purple Ribbon, Japan

2019　  Created Kanzashi and Suhama for Daikyō No Gi in Daijosai, Japan
2021　  Created Shariyouki of Shinran, Kenshoji Temple, Osaka, Japan

Exhibitions:

1994       "Takamatsunomiya Kinen award - 41st Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition", Japan

2017　  "Traditional Kōgei in Everyday Life", MOA museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan

2019　  LIXIL Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2019　  "The 21st Okada Mokichi Award Exhibition", MOA museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan

2020　  "Kōgei 2020 -The Art of Crafting Beauty from Nature-", Tokyo National Museum, Toyko, Japan

2022　  "Grater Depth and Evolution: the Expanding World of Traditional Crafts", Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan

2023 　  "Special Exhibition Celebrating the 5th Year of His Majesty’s Reign and the 30th Wedding Anniversary of Their Majesties — Ushering in the Reiwa Era: 30 Years in Retrospect", The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, Tokyo, Japan

Art Fair:

2022　   Design Miami, Miami, Florida