This exhibition is the first large-scale retrospective in Japan introducing the glass artist OHIRA Yoichi. Ohira was drawn to glass through reading about it in novels and was fascinated by Venice, famous for its splendid glass art. At the age of twenty-six, he went to Europe, aiming to became a glass artist. Overwhelmed by the depth of Venetian glass’s traditions and history, with its more than five centuries of glory, Ohira discovered his own path, based on his own concepts for works and created through collaborations with master glassmakers.

 

After working as a corporate designer, Ohira became independent and established his own style, with designs skillfully combining transparent and opaque glass. Ohira acquired ideas from Roman-period mosaic glass while also incorporating the forms of ceramics and lacquerware seen in the East Asian region. He skillfully harmonized the parameters of classic Western art with craft elements from the East. Having absorbed every aspect of the history of Venetian glass, Ohira sought to integrate Japanese and Venetian cultures and aesthetics. He ultimately transcended those vast traditions to achieve his own distinct style, creating glass whose beauty is universal.

This exhibition is focused on about 150 of Ohira’s works in glass, produced in Japan and abroad, combined with his detailed sketches and drawings and reference materials related to glass production that Ohira collected in his research. We hope you will enjoy these works, which present the quintessence of contemporary glass.

Venue: Toyama Glass Art Museum, Floors 2-3, Exhibition Rooms 1-3

https://toyama-glass-art-museum.jp/en/exhibition/yoichi-ohira-beyond-venetian-glass/