Los Angeles
Craft Contemporary
Tomoshibi: Glass Works by Kazuki Takizawa
May 9 – September 12, 2021
5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
https://www.craftcontemporary.org
Japanese artist’s glass works encapsulates the experience of mental illness and recovery
Kazuki Takizawa’s first solo museum exhibition Tomoshibi: Glass Works by Kazuki Takizawa at Craft Contemporary in Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile masterfully weaves the artist’s glassblowing prowess together with a personal reflection of his inner journey, creating a theatrical narrative exhibition.
The artist writes, “The exhibition explores the deepest and darkest parts of myself through my struggles with bipolar disorder in an attempt to find the moments of light that live there.” Indeed, the darkness only serves to render the light brighter, in an interdependent ouroboros that mirrors the duality of elation and despair.
The works featured in the exhibition represent a form of tomoshibi for the artist, with each series exploring a different facet of his ongoing relationship to mental health.
They range from somber to celebratory—drops of water fill a vessel in vain, only to be drained through the cracks of the surface in Breaking the Silence III, while the colorful flower-like shapes of Stopper-Driven rise from the ground like a mystical garden.
For him, glass—a medium barely visible itself—provides a visual manifestation of mental illness, an issue routinely treated as invisible and, moreover, stigmatized. By creating an immersive journey, Tomoshibi: Glass Works by Kazuki Takizawa encapsulates the experience of mental illness and recovery, encouraging light to be shed on an oft-hidden subject.
Kazuki Takizawa (b. 1986, Hong Kong) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Glass from the University of Hawaii in 2010, in addition to studying under renowned glass artists such as Cathy Chase, David Chatt, and Richard Royal at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington.
In addition to his role as an artist, Takizawa has also taught widely across the country and participated in artist residencies including The Works in Newark, Ohio, and Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts.