Shihoko Fukumoto b. 1945

Shihoko Fukumoto (b. 1945) is one of Japan’s foremost textile artists and a pioneering presence in the field of contemporary indigo dyeing. For more than four decades she has pursued a deep engagement with color, cloth, and the meditative qualities of natural dye, creating works that merge traditional techniques with a distinctly modern sensitivity. Born in Shimizu City and raised in Osaka, she first studied Western painting at Osaka City Kogei High School before earning her BFA from Kyoto City University of Arts. This early training in drawing and color theory has remained central to her approach to textile art.

Fukumoto is known for indigo works that reveal glowing layers of blue, as if light were rising slowly from within the textile itself. Her compositions feel spacious and atmospheric, offering a quiet sense of depth that encourages slow looking. Rather than treating cloth as a flat surface, she engages it as a living material shaped by time, touch, and the subtle movement of dye through fiber. Her work often evokes the natural world, yet does so through abstraction, allowing texture and tone to suggest seasons, weather, or the passage of time.
Over the course of her career she has encountered and worked with many precious fabrics, refining a practice that honors traditional craft while expanding its expressive possibilities. Her achievements have earned widespread recognition, and her works are held in major museums across Japan, Europe, and the United States. In 2012 she received the Kyoto Fine Arts Cultural Award, a testament to her enduring influence within the world of contemporary textile art.

Selected Award

2012 The 25th Kyoto Fine Arts Cultural Award

Selected Permanent Collections

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
The National Museum of Art, Osaka
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Röhsska Museum, Gothenburg
Museum of Art and Design, New York
Portland Art Museum, Portland
Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, Rotterdam
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida