Haruo Mitsuta "Jizai" （Yonago City Museum of Art）

Haruo Mitsuta "Jizai"

Finished

Artists

Haruo Mitsuta

Haruo Mitsuta, a Jizai Okimono artist, was born in Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture in 1980 and spent his school years in Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture. While at the university, he met and studied with Tomiki Muneyuki, a Jizai Okimono (free style figurine) artist.

Currently based in Yokohama, Mitsuta is an inheritor of the Jizai Okimono (crafts made of metal and other materials in the shape of imaginary creatures such as insects, snakes, crustaceans, and dragons) created by armor craftsmen from the late Edo period through the Meiji period, and exhibits his work both in Japan and abroad. His works are mainly of creatures such as stag beetles and centipedes, which he reproduces not only their external appearance but also their internal structure with his keen observation and precise handiwork, which can actually be moved.

His works, which are so elaborate that they are almost real, have been described as "life that happens to be made of metal." In recognition of his outstanding skills, he has received the Chairman's Prize at the All Japan Gold and Silver Creation Exhibition (2005), the Grand Prize at the 2nd Art Plaza Grand Prize Exhibition (2007), Honorable Mention at the 48th Japan Crafts Exhibition (2009), the 8th Creative Tradition Award He also received the "8th Creating Traditions Award" (2016). Recent exhibitions include "Japanese Sketches: The Magic of Duplicity" (Hakodate Museum of Art, Hokkaido and others, 2017), "Amazing Superlative Techniques! From Meiji Crafts to Contemporary Art" (Mitsui Memorial Museum of Art and others, 2017), and "Whereabouts of Realism: Contemporary Artists Live and Photograph" (Hiratsuka Museum of Art and others, 2022).

This exhibition is Mitsuda's first solo exhibition at the museum, introducing mainly his recent works, in which he has continued to evolve his traditional techniques.