KAKU: Spiral Rhythm
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Overview
Exhibition opens Thursday, February 5th, 2026
- Opening Reception at 35 N Moore Street, TriBeCa: February 5, 2026, 6–8 PM
- Private viewing by appointment only.
NEW YORK, NY – Ippodo Gallery is pleased to present Spiral Rhythm, the first solo exhibition of acclaimed Japanese artist KAKU at Ippodo Gallery. More than a dozen three-dimensional paintings and sculptures are on view from February 5 to February 28, 2026. KAKU meditates on the significance of washi paper as an architectural element in Japanese culture, particularly as humans are increasingly surrounded by artificial materials in everyday life. The essence of washi offers a material intelligence refreshing to the soul amidst the encroaching world of artificial intelligence.
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Press Release
NEW YORK, NY – Ippodo Gallery is pleased to present Spiral Rhythms, the first solo exhibition of acclaimed Japanese artist KAKU at Ippodo Gallery. More than a dozen three-dimensional paintings and sculptures, composed from tens of thousands of hand-wrapped washi paper spirals, are on view from February 5 to February 28, 2026. KAKU meditates on the significance of washi paper as an architectural element in Japanese culture, particularly as humans are increasingly surrounded by artificial materials in everyday life. The essence of washi offers a material intelligence refreshing to the soul amidst the encroaching world of artificial intelligence.
KAKU (b. 1950) began the extraordinary journey into washi in 1980s Japan when he voluntarily made the decision to withdraw from a thriving commercial career in design. The roots of what became his spiral designs developed over fifteen years of near-isolation in Budapest, Hungary as he recovered from a fast-paced culture that had created burnout: "The spiral pieces emerge from my hands as naturally as breathing, as if a spider were spinning its thread from deep within me,” the artist reflects. "The spiral feels to me like a fragment of life itself.”
Central to his unique technique is the meticulous hand-wrapping of each spiral, working from the core outward: washi paper is coiled repeatedly around special wires typically used in ikebana flower arrangement. KAKU arranges the individual paper coils into expansive compositions where each component becomes inextricable from the whole. To create these spirals is a form of meditation, an invitation to join in a collective serenity. There is a simple and profound meaning to the natural white character of washi and organic forms which recall leaves, shells, and other biological formations. It is a visual language shared by Ippodo Gallery: references to nature which transcend cultural and aesthetic boundaries.
KAKU is a contemporary artist adored and collected by art connoisseurs, major collectors, interior designers, and architects since Ippodo Gallery first debuted his work in New York. His work has been exhibited extensively in Japan, Poland, and the United States. -
Works
