Tina Keng Gallery is pleased to present Axis of Life, the very first solo exhibition of Japanese sculptor Ikki Miyake in Taiwan, with several important series tracing his artistic journey. Born in 1973, Miyake received a Ph.D. degree in sculpture in 2009 from the Tama Art University, Tokyo. One of Japan’s renowned wood sculptors, he is highly sought after on the Asian contemporary art market. Noting the resemblance between the smooth human skin and the surface of the Torreya tree[1] and Kiso-Hinoki cypress, he captures the physical beauty of the human form imbued with a sense of intimacy.

Axis of Life mirrors the core concept of Ikki Miyake, where he connects two opposing elements: East and West, ancient and present, mind and body, spirit and form, heaven and earth. Sculptures for him are as much a linkage as an equilibrium between dichotomies, materializing the invisible in a cycle of “being and non-being generate each other.” In his contemporary interpretation of sculptural physicality, the artist ingrains into his work through age-old Japanese techniques a yearning for wood and nature, interweaving his practice with tradition and culture as he explores more possibilities in this substantial art form.

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[1]The Torreya tree is a precious Japanese fine wood used for the making of Buddha and god statues in Japan since the 8th and 9th centuries.