Hello, I am Motoko
- Biography -
Motoko was born into an artistic family in Tokyo. Her mother was a poet of tanka and haiku, and her father, born in Hiroshima, was a painter and professor of art. Other family members were practitioners and masters of Japanese literature, calligraphy, and Noh Theatre.
After graduating from Tama Art University in Tokyo, Motoko was selected for an artist residency at Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park and was subsequently commissioned for the 400th anniversary of Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto, where she created clay sculptures and collaborated with lighting designer Uchihara Satoshi on the aesthetics of this historic site.
Motoko broadened her horizons and spent two years in the United States studying under Paul Soldner, who is widely regarded as the pioneer of contemporary Raku ceramic sculpture in the United States. Her passion for ceramic sculpture led her to Hungary for several intensive training sessions at the International Ceramic Institute in Kecsiseméty. She studied with Sándor Kecsiseméty and Nina Hall in Denmark. She was also invited to be an "Artist in Residence" at the Szyklos Ceramic Centre and later at the Hodmezovasarhely Artist House in Hungary.
After moving to Germany, Motoko completed her Master's degree at the Institute of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Glass at the University of Applied Sciences Koblenz in 2010. After graduating, she embarked on many projects and collaborations with other artists and classical and jazz musicians in Germany, Hungary and Switzerland.
At the end of 2013, she moved to Australia and in 2015 was a finalist in the Victorian Ceramic Art Awards and a finalist in the International Sculpture at Scenic World (Katoomba, NSW). In 2014, she was an artist residency in Heritage Hill (Dandenong), Fiskars Art Community (Finland), "Bilila" Brighton (Bayside City Council) in 2015, and ART CIRCLE (Slovenia) in 2016. Then she was a winner of "Vibrant Acland Grant - Boat Dreams" (Port Phillip City) in 2017, next participated in the international art exhibition "Incident IV Accident" (an exhibition of six Japanese artists) in Poland in 2018. She has been a Contemporary Sculptors Society (CSA) member since late 2019.
Motoko is a multidisciplinary visual artist, working with acrylic paint, Japanese ink, pastel, and calligraphy on washi paper. She uses clay, moss, cardboard, plaster and stone in her sculptures. Other mediums/installations include mirrors and visual projections.
She currently works in Melbourne researching, studying and working in early childhood education alongside her art practice.