HONMA Kōichi (born 1993, Sadō)

Hōyō “Shadow of Foam”

Yatara-ami plaiting (irregular openwork); flame-bent bamboo

Born into an important lineage of bamboo artists from Sado Island, Honma Kōichi carries forward the legacy of his grandfather, Honma Kazuaki, and his father, Honma Hideaki, while developing a distinctly contemporary sculptural language.

In Hōyō, broad rings of menya bamboo, stained dark red and joined through yatara-ami plaiting, appear to float around flame-bent stems of nemagaridake. Applied as a finish, the urushi lacquer intensifies the depth of the material. Through circular voids, slender lines and structural tension, the work acquires a fragile yet dynamic presence, in which the material appears at once stable and in motion.