Tanaka Yū (b.1989), a highly creative, young female artist based in Kyoto, focuses exclusively on clay sculpture. Inspired by the earlier Sodeisha group, she strives to create forms that encapsulate both space and air and question the very nature of functionality — what may really be inside of her clay objects that appear to be vessels wrapped in cloth. The softness, texture, and pliability of cotton cloth colored with traditional dyes for such standard materials are her main point of departure. These trompe l’oeil clay sculptures of Japanese wrapping cloths seemingly enclose hidden vessels or boxes. Although her work appears to be slab-built, Tanaka coil-builds her forms in Shigaraki-blended clay, preferring its superior plasticity. For the surface treatment, Tanaka sponges the surfaces smooth then applies thin layers of clay slip with either a brush or air-brush. Her immediately recognizable work, often in a distinctive turmeric yellow, has already entered the collections of several major museums in the West and has been prominently featured to promote museum exhibitions in recent years.
