Kuniko Maeda
Kuniko Maeda is a Japanese artist based in London, who works primarily with paper, leather and textiles to create artworks and installations for public and private space.
She specializes in sustainable textile design and incorporates traditional Japanese techniques and digital technology. By exploring the possibilities of materials and their unique properties, she allows materials to speak and embrace natural abstraction.
She draws her inspiration from our daily environment and everyday objects, which tend to be neglected and forgotten in a hectic urban life.
In June 2023, one of his pieces, Columbidae , was selected to embody the visual of the emblematic piece of the 6th edition of the Révélations exhibition which was held at the Grand Palais Ephémère from June 7 to 11, 2023.
Combining paper cutting, acrylic paint and kakishibu (persimmon tannin lacquer), she creates elegant and airy shapes from scratch, bringing a surprising palette of colours to her works. She draws her inspiration from the plumage of birds, a source of poetry, beauty and lightness, but also from everyday objects and materials that are often neglected, which she reuses to transform them into works of art.
What is kakishibu?
With the kakishibu technique, Kuniko Maeda illustrates how Japanese culture has valued the use of natural materials for centuries. In this traditional craft, the juice of the sour (unripe) persimmon is extracted to dye various materials, including paper, textiles and wood. Kakishibu is valued for its ability to produce a wide range of hues from orange-brown to darker brown. Objects dyed with kakishibu become more beautiful over time, following exposure to the sun which can cause a gradual and delicate oxidation, thus deepening the colors and improving resistance to external elements.