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 ascension 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
