Hiroyuki Shindo

Hiroyuki Shindo (b. 1941 Tokyo, Japan) is one of the world's pre-eminent indigo artists, and is bringing new life into this ancient craft, using venerable techniques to produce his fascinating contemporary indigo works. Shindo says, “Indigo has a universal appeal and a history of being used in textiles as a mystical color."

Artist Statement: “I have developed my own system for indigo dyeing, which utilizes wide flat troughs in which I lay small stones. As I pour the dye into the trough, I watch carefully as the indigo is drawn slowly into the fabric. The resulting gradations of hues of blue – from nearly invisible shadows to areas of nearly black – are a happy combination of natural process and my own invention.

In my exploration of indigo dyeing I have discovered that the white in each work – whether handwoven cotton or linen or a mixture of both – is as great a concern as the dyed portion. If the white is not brilliant enough, or the undyed portion is not of the right proportion, the balance is broken, and so I insist: white is as important to my work as is indigo."