Takasuke Yamada

Painting/Sculpture

Through paintings and objects, he express the cyclical relationship between "soil and stone." Using materials such as Date Kanmuri stone and Okura Sabi soil, I create works themed around the nature of Miyagi and the memories of the earth and traces of time that breathe within Mount Okura.

[Artist Statement]
Born from volcanic activity and tectonic shifts, the Date Kanmuri stone of Mount Okura has spent twenty million years quietly returning to the earth, influenced by the sea along the way.
Every day, I walk the mountain and scoop up the soil with my hands. I use that soil to make pigments, mixing them into my paints to depict the stone's form.
This is not an act of tracing a lost shape, but one of helping memories that have turned to soil seek the form of stone once more.
“To paint.” I hope you can catch even a glimpse of the atmosphere and the layers of time that reside in the space between stone and soil.

[About the Artist]
Born in Miyagi Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of English and American Literature, Tamagawa University. Subsequently lived in the UK for five years. Graduated from the Graphic Design program at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. After returning to Japan, became involved in the family business, Okura Yama Studio, expanding the possibilities of Date Kanmuri stone through collaborations with artists, architects, and designers from Japan and abroad. As the fifth-generation steward of Okura Yama Studio, which produces the Date Kanmuri stone beloved by sculptor Isamu Noguchi, the artist refines their inner sensibilities through daily life spent protecting the mountain and engaging in a dialogue with the stone.