Ippodo Gallery is pleased to present Shimijimi: Dyed and Inlaid Textiles by Shigeki Fukumoto, the master dyer's first New York solo exhibition and debut at Ippodo Gallery, from April 30 to June 6, 2026. The exhibition features more than twenty-two dimensional works and folding screens from across three decades of his distinguished career. Blurring the line between painting and the traditions of Japanese textile, Fukumoto's unique wax resist (rozome) and cloth inlay (nunozougan) techniques, using precious Turpan cotton, explore expressions of color, light, and layering within the long-established language of dyeing (senshoku).
Shigeki Fukumoto (b. 1946) provides a philosophy and process that cannot be defined by classical ideas of textile. His sensational dyes permeate beyond the surface of the fabric and sink into the fibers in contrast to the interwoven picture-making of Western textile arts. Fukumoto hails from Kyoto, where textile dyeing is more rich in history and there is a greater density of traditional cloth dyers than anywhere else in Japan. Fukumoto took up the mantle of his family's kimono dyeing business from the mid 1960s until 1987 after studying oil painting at university. Mastering the strict techniques of wax-resist cloth dyeing—a cultural heritage dating back one-thousand years—Fukumoto began to share his constantly expanding expertise as a professor at Osaka University of Art.
As dye is introduced to cloth, the nature of the material is to spread unabated unless carefully controlled. Fukumoto approaches each wax resist dyed work in careful balance between technical process and the exploration of self-expression. Step by step he prepares the cloth and color dyes to guide the unruly nature of the medium to accomplish his intended expression. Fukumoto's meticulous preparation creates opportunities for controlled entropy where nature otherwise tends towards chaos.
"Distinct from tableaux, tapestries, or conventional fiber work, Fukumoto is carving out a textile horizon that has never been seen before. His work is an attempt to quietly dissolve the boundaries between nature, daily life, and art. The dyeing that emerges is a new spiritual frontier of creativity that permeates the heart deeply—truly, Shimijimi."
– Shoko Aono, Director
