Hirotomi Maeda (b. 1961) is an award-winning metalsmith whose decorative vessels are incomparable in the world of Japanese contemporary art. Equipped with a hammer and his hands, Maeda inlays alloy filaments and pounds the flat sheet metal into an oblong shape. A Professor of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of Arts, Maeda’s celebrated career includes top awards at national arts exhibitions, Japan’s Purple Ribbon, and honors including commissioned metalworks for Osaka’s Kenshoji Temple and to commemorate the accession of Emperor Naruhito in 2019.
Biography:
1961 Born in Ishikawa, Japan
1989 Top award at 30th Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, Japan
2015 Top award at 44th Exhibition Traditional Japanese Metalwork, Japan
2018 Top award at 65th Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, Japan
2019 Received Medal with Purple Ribbon, Japan
2019 Created Kanzashi and Suhama for Daikyō No Gi in Daijosai, Japan
2021 Created Shariyouki of Shinran, Kenshoji Temple, Osaka, Japan
Exhibitions:
1994 "Takamatsunomiya Kinen award - 41st Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition", Japan
2017 "Traditional Kōgei in Everyday Life", MOA museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan
2019 LIXIL Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2019 "The 21st Okada Mokichi Award Exhibition", MOA museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan
2020 "Kōgei 2020 -The Art of Crafting Beauty from Nature-", Tokyo National Museum, Toyko, Japan
2022 "Grater Depth and Evolution: the Expanding World of Traditional Crafts", Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan
2023 "Special Exhibition Celebrating the 5th Year of His Majesty’s Reign and the 30th Wedding Anniversary of Their Majesties — Ushering in the Reiwa Era: 30 Years in Retrospect", The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, Tokyo, Japan
Art Fair:
2022 Design Miami, Miami, Florida
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Light and Abundance: Gold in Japanese Art
13 Mar - 17 Apr 2025Exhibition opens Thursday, March 13, 2025 35 N Moore Street, TriBeCa New York, NY — GRAND OPENING Ippodo Gallery invites you to join our inaugural opening of the new downtown...Read more -
Extreme Surfaces: Cutting Edge Kogei
Ippodo Gallery's Premiere at Design Miami 2022 + New Year Exhibition 30 Nov 2022 - 16 Feb 2023Ippodo Galleryis a pioneering kogei -focused gallery based in Tokyo and New York. Our mission is to honor the living tradition of Japanese fine art in the contemporary world by...Read more
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TEFAF Maastricht 2026
14 - 19 Mar 2026FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Authentic Colors of Japan MAASTRICHT, NETHERLANDS – Ippodo Gallery is pleased to announce its debut participation in TEFAF Maastricht 2026, presenting a landmark exhibition titled Authentic Colors of Japan at Booth 476. From March 14 to March 19, the exhibition will feature masterful objects by 20 of Japan’s most distinguished contemporary artists. Their creations evoke vivid pigments sourced from nature and explore the primal power of color through the nation’s rarest traditional materials. This showcase of authentic Japanese colors offers visitors an encounter with a spectrum of mediums: the deep reds of vermillion lacquer, the luminescence of Gofun white from oyster shells, the brilliance of gold and silver leaf, and the depth of indigo blue. The exhibition highlights how ancient techniques are being radically recontextualized for global contemporary audiences: cutting edge mother-of-pearl inlays are naturally luminescent like digital screens; revolutionary silk Obi belts woven with opal incorporate the thousand-year history of Japanese weaving with new understanding of minerals; and masterworks in bamboo, Nihonga painting, and clay are grounded in the earthy, tactile aesthetics of the Japanese landscape. "To witness these artworks is to see the 'colors' of Japan not as mere pigments, but as living history," says Shoko Aono, the director of Ippodo Gallery. "In presenting pieces by these 20 esteemed artists in Maastricht, we are showcasing a mastery that is at once ancient and avant-garde." Exhibiting artists: Shin Fujihira, Shihoko Fukumoto, Kondaya Genbey, Yuki Hayama, Hideaki Honma, Terumasa Ikeda, Manji Inoue, Hajime and Yasuo Ishikura, Hiromi Itabashi, Yukiya Izumita, KAKU, Sho Kishino, Hirotomi Maeda, Masaaki Miyasako, Jihei Murase, Daisuke Nakano, Junko Narita, Reiji Omori, Hiraku Sudo, Shion Tabata, and Sōyō and Shōdo Yamagishi.Read more -
Aspen Art Fair 2025
Aspen, Colorado 29 Jul - 2 Aug 2025Ippodo Gallery is proud to make its debut at the second annual Aspen Art Fair , held at the historic Hotel Jerome in the heart...Read more -
Grand Opening | Inaugural Exhibition Opening Reception
13 Mar 2025Coinciding with Asia Week New York 2025 Venue : NEW Ippodo Gallery Flagship in TriBeCa (35 N. Moore Street, New York, 10013) When : 5:00...Read more -
Salon Art & Design 2024
Park Avenue Armory 7 - 11 Nov 2024Ippodo Gallery debuts at Salon Art + Design the concept Growing Roots: The Next Generation of Japanese Art featuring a range of works made of...Read more -
Design Miami 2022
Extreme Surfaces: Cutting Edge Kogei 30 Nov - 4 Dec 2022Design Miami 2022Read more
