TOMODA TAEKO

• "Taeko Tomoda is a sculptural artist who creates art using paper as her primary material. Her works are formed by hand-making paper from kozo (paper mulberry), which she shapes into three-dimensional pieces. In her solo exhibition “Traces of Paper Vol.19,” her name gained wide attention when it was featured in promotional advertisements for the city of Wakayama, broadcast inside the Shinkansen ticket gates at JR Shin-Osaka Station, the main gateway to the Kansai region. Tomoda’s works employ kozo, regarded as the strongest among traditional washi materials, and incorporate sumi ink and kakishibu—colorants long familiar to the Japanese body and culture. Through her unique methods, she draws out the unexpected qualities and possibilities inherent in paper as a material. Known for pioneering a singular realm of paper-based art under the theme “Connecting and Being Connected,” she has opened up an unprecedented world of paper work."