Artists & Makers
Meet the artists and makers who made Re-think 廃材 come to life
Artist Unit
MAGMA
An artist unit by Jun Sugiyama and Kenichi Miyazawa. They use their unique outlook to create works with waste materials, resin, and motor appliances, and have expanded into furniture, products, and space direction.
They are garnering much attention both domestically and abroad for their vaguely nostalgic works that fuse analogue and crazy colors.
Interior Artist
studioBOWL
Ryohei Murukami founder of studioBOWL, decided on this company name in May 2013 as play on salad bowl - a tool used to mix many single different ingredients into one new thing. Similarly Murakami's work can be described as a collaging of scraps and existing products to create something completely new. This production style has led to many interior design projects for retail spaces, shop fixtures, artwork for corporate offices, and visual merchandising. In 2022 Murakami opened SUPER PERSONAL SHOWCASE, a curated shop and gallery in Daikanyama.
ARCHITECT / ARTIST
Kanto Iwamura
Born in Tokyo in 1985, Kanto studied architecture at the AASchool of Architecture in London. His creative career began as a painter based on the self-invented "A_Maze" drawing method, an extension of his drafting skills. Currently, Kanto attempts to express the concepts of time and process in a crossover of spatial, three-dimensional, and two-dimensional media in his artistic and social subjects, starting with architecture.
Scrap Wood Reclaimer / Artist
Seiya Kaji
Born in 1996 in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture.
After graduating from Nagaoka Institute of Design, Kaji worked at Kaikai Kiki Inc. He is currently working on a large scale project, creating life-size animals out of scrap wood.
Artist
Taebom Kim
Born in 1980 in Ehime, Japan to Korean and Japanese parents. Kim graduated from London AA School, with his background in architecture he mainly creates experiential installations. Major exhibitions include: Setouchi International Art Festival, Kobe Biennale, Water and Land Art Festival, National Museum of Contemporary Art - Seoul, Sejong Center for the Arts - Seoul.
Contemporary Craftsman / Musician
Mizuguchi Guchi
An Osaka based trickster, Guchi is a multi-hyphened creative. A fond DIYer, visual artist for and member of the band Akainu, fellow Play Orchestra Minimamusu performer featured on NHKs popular E-channel, he also runs regular craft workshops, has painted murals for Rokko Adventure Park in Kobe, and has a permanent art room at BnA Alter Museum in Kyoto. Guchi also works as a caretaker at an elementary school on weekdays.
Designer Craftsman
Makoto Nagai
Gained his practical Craftsman experience in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, 2011. He majored in architecture and studied design in Finland. Currently Makoto is involved in architectural & space design, interior & fixture construction as a craftsman, and product development that mixes digital fabrication and handiwork.
Architect / Artist
Shimpei Ogawa
Shimpei Ogawa was born in 1997 and graduated from the Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University, majoring in architecture. As a digital fabricator of woodwork, he is involved in design and production across domains and scales, from vases to furniture and architecture. Through the creation of objects as interactive others, he creates spaces and places with margins.
Artist/Designer/Technologist
Ian Grossberg
Ian Grossberg is an artist, designer, and creative technologist who is inspired by people, nature, and the intersection of the two. He brings these inspirations along with a love of play and silliness into his work in education, health, environmental conservation, social equity, and a variety other fields.
Artist Group
The Crafters
A collective of multi-disciplinary craftsmen who share their skills, wisdom, and experience to experiment not only in manufacturing, but also in working styles, lifestyles, commercial perspectives, thought processes, and artistic expression.