Kunimasa Aoki b. 1963

PARIS, FRANCE— Ippodo Gallery debuts at Fine Arts Paris at Booth N25 in the historic Grand Palais from September 19–23, 2026. Quiet Metamorphosis: A Resurgence of Kogei highlights a timely revival of Japanese fine-art-craft. Drawing upon time-honored traditions, these most contemporary works evoke a visceral and meditative presence: this is a profound creative metamorphosis happening quietly in our time. In the nineteenth century, revolutionary Japonisme transfixed the landscape of French culture and Western art through flat perspective, vivid naturalism, and asymmetric composition. Japan’s contemporary masters honor artistic heritage whilst approaching their materials with a radically modern sensibility. Their creations bring ancient craft into the era of contemporary art. Under the majestic dome of the Grand Palais—the historic site of the World’s Fairs which ignited global passion for Japanese aesthetics—Quiet Metamorphosis: A Resurgence of Kogei awakens an essential philosophy of beauty.

Ippodo Gallery returns to the Aspen Art Fair at the historic Hotel Jerome for the second year; the presentation Transforming Nature draws the splendor of the organic world into the realm of the decorated interior. Surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, the raw essences of nature convene within the home-style setting in the form of Carrara marble, regional clays of Japan, forged iron, Venetian blown glass, carved & lacquered wood, washi paper, bamboo, traditionally dyed textiles, and precious mineral pigment paints. The ensemble of works by more than twenty artists, primarily hailing from Japan, invites new considerations about the relationship between people and the earth: a living medium capable of profound beauty and metamorphosis.