Ikuo Inada Exhibition Lay Your Hands On Me

Jan 10, 2025 — Exhibition: Solo

君の手を僕に預けて｜Lay Your Hands On Me｜2024 | camphorwood | H167×48×51cm

FUMA Contemporary Tokyo｜BUNKYO ART is pleased to present “Lay Your Hands On Me,” an exhibition of wood sculptures by Ikuo Inada.

Ikuo Inada (b. 1986, Hyogo, Japan) entered the Department of Sculpture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts in 2007 and completed the doctoral program in sculpture at the university's Graduate School of Fine Arts in 2015. Currently, he is attracting attention both domestically and internationally as a sculptor for his unique style.
Since his student days, he has consistently used human figures as motifs in his works, and these figures are wrapped in familiar items used in private spaces, such as hoodies, sweatshirts, duvets and pillows. This expression transcends attributes such as nationality, gender, and age, creating a personal yet universal worldview.
Furthermore, Inada's works are characterized by colorless sculpture, in which forms are depicted only by the shadows created by the strength of the carving. The soft flow and wrinkles of the cloth show the influence of Baroque sculpture, while the well-proportioned expression of the human body shows the influence of Renaissance sculpture. By using wood, which evokes warmth and fragility, rather than stone, to express these elements, the artist has created works with a unique texture and presence.

Artist Statement

I have titled my first solo exhibition at FUMA Contemporary Tokyo as
"Lay Your Hands On Me."
Since my student days, I have been consistently creating works with human figures as motifs. This began with "an interest in human existence." After starting from my own inner world, which is familiar to me, in recent years, my interest has shifted to "the distance between self and others" and "changes of people within a society."
In "Lay Your Hands On Me," a work with the same title as that of the exhibition, I sculpted a figure embracing a down quilt. This down quilt does not have a form that I find "beautiful." I dared to adopt an imbalance as a three-dimensional object that I have not incorporated in my previous works, such as an abrupt change of shape and an unstable balance of volume. The figure embracing such uncertainty is the key to the composition of this work.
I wanted to find something different by experiencing an unusual process, starting from a foundation that was different from the sculptural sense and perspective of things I had cultivated. I worked on my production this time in order to find a new path.
I have not yet been able to clearly verbalize what that new path is, and I do not have an answer that I can offer. However, I hope that you will be able to sense through my works the feelings I have put into the title "Lay Your Hands On Me."