A new, short film by Naoto Sakamoto features the Art School’s International Artist in Residence 2019, Taku Obata, and documents his making process as he carves a life-size, wooden ‘B-BOY’ sculpture during his residency in the Art School’s studios. The impressive, polychrome carving, typical of Taku’s work, featured in a recent exhibition at Japan House London, which included an artist talk and demonstration.
Taku explains that the time and space afforded to him by his residency at the Art School allowed him to test out a different approach to his work, with more emphasis on sketching and intricate measurement.
Taku Obata is a multi-disciplinary Artist, who works mainly with large scale polychrome woodcarving and video. His practice is influenced by his background as a break-dancer and his work fuses urban themes with Japanese craft techniques.
Predominantly based in Japan, Taku received a master’s degree in sculpture from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2008 and the same year won the grand prize at the Tokyo Wonder Site Grand Prix for his “B-BOY sculpture”. He has had a string of successful solo exhibitions in Japan and the United States, as well as exhibiting in many group shows.
The Art School’s residency programme provides generous studio space and access to specialist facilities to early and mid-career artists, who in return share their practice insights with students studying on the undergraduate and postgraduate Fine Art and Historic Carving programmes.