Between form and Emptiness: the symbolic depth of Leiko Ikemura's terracotta works

Leiko Ikemura is a Japanese-Swiss graphic artist, painter and sculptor. In her work she combines influences from the East and West, which she on transforms in her very own way and abstracts. Her terracotta sculptures in particular attract special attention on due to their unique materiality and symbolic depth. In our large presenceAuction on 7 December 2024 we are pleased to present object "Dunkelgelbes Kleid mit rotem Vogel / Dark Yellow Dress with Red Bird" from 1996.

Leiko Ikemura's path to becoming an international artist

Born in Japan , the artist decided to leave Japan after studying literature in Osaka in order to absorb new artistic and cultural influences. In the early 1970s, Ikemura moved to Spain, where she began studying art at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes in Seville. The next turning point in her career was the move to Deutschland in the early 1980s. In Cologne and later in Berlin , Ikemura found an inspiring environment to further develop her artistic practice. Originally known as a painter, she began to experiment with new media, including sculpture and drawing.

She had her first comprehensive solo exhibition in Basel in 1987. Leiko Ikemura is internationally recognized today, and her works have been exhibited in numerous renowned museums and galleries. Important national venues in her career include the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, the Kunsthalle Rostock and and the Albertina in Vienna. Internationally, her works have attracted attention at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid and and the Museum of Modern Art Gunma in Japan , among others. In 2019, the Kunstmuseum Basel dedicated a comprehensive retrospective to her entitled Leiko Ikemura: Between Heaven and Earth.

Today, and Ikemura lives and works between Deutschland and the Switzerland. In addition to her work as an artist, Ikemura has also worked as a professor, including at the University of the Arts Berlin, where she held a professorship for painting from 1991 to 2014. Her role as a mentor and her commitment to teaching art have also helped to consolidate her influence on the art world.

Materiality and Metaphysics: A look on Leiko Ikemura's terracotta figures

Since the 1990s, sculpture has played an increasingly important role in her object work, whereby she is particularly known for her works in terracotta, bronze and glass. Working with terracotta in particular, a material with a long tradition, seemed to be a suitable option for her to work on her introspective and symbolic themes on in a new way. The earthy, natural material lends the sculptures a raw, original aesthetic that is clearly distinct from smooth, polished materials. Through the potential of the earthy, Ikemura creates a direct connection to the earth and to transience.

The themes of her artistic work are man and his interaction with nature. But also the feminine, which she on transforms in a symbolically multi-layered way. The feminine forms of her terracotta sculptures appear simultaneously powerful and fragile and symbolize a kind of archetype of the feminine, which is bound to nature and the earthy. Ikemura uses forms that represent the feminine in a cyclical, maternal and universal way.

We can also see the same in the sculpture "Dark yellow dress with red bird". The 61 x 33 x 35 cm figure without a head is completely hollow inside and is reminiscent of a vase that can be filled. It holds a small red bird in front of its chest. The bird figure could be interpreted as a symbol of for freedom, soul or connection between heaven and earth. The sculpture appears how to be a shell that incorporates the space around it and while at the same time revealing the fragility of its own form. The simplicity of the form evokes a universal, almost iconic femininity that goes beyond individual traits and and represents the idea of the feminine as the archetype and connection to nature. 

We are delighted to be able to present a object by this internationally acclaimed artist auction and We cordially invite you to view the painting in our exhibition rooms. 

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We are delighted to be able to present a object by this internationally acclaimed artist auction and We cordially invite you to view the sculpture in our exhibition rooms

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Old Art, Modern & Contemporary Art

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