Naoko Serino

Statement:

"Jute is attractive as it is transient but also solid.

Transforming jute into a fibrous material, I feel that the possibilities of expression have opened up and been induced, and eventually a three-dimensional expression, containing both light and air, is born. I am inspired by the moment when the beauty of life appears and casts its radiance. When my inner memory is stimulated, I turn the fundamental illusion into a "shape" and thus I am able to enjoy interacting with shapes far beyond my imagination. I also hope that an expression and dialogue will be produced, that> the space would be created/generated in which there is a comfortable energy, and these expressions would continue to exist in balance with the surroundings.

Meanwhile, I hope that I can leave some memory and a slight sense of connection in people's hearts. I will search for new possibilities for jute fiber through my hands and emotions."

Selected collections and exhibition venues:

Museum Rijswijk, the Netherlands (Holland Paper Biennial); Kajima Ki Building, Tokyo, Japan (10th Kajima Sculpture Competition); Church of San Francesco, Como, Italy (Miniartextil Como); Musée des Beaux Arts, Tournai, Belgium (Triennial International Textile Art Exhibition); Gwangju Art Museum, Korea (Academy of Arts & Design); Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe (Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection, catalog); Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan; Urasoe Museum, Okinawa, Japan (Asia Fiber Art Exhibition); St. Amandsberg Chapel, Ghent, Belgium (International Paper Salon); Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Gallery of Slovak Union of Visual Arts, Bratislava, Slovakia; Technópolis, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Futurotextiles 3); Japan Society, New York, New York; Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland (Fiber Futures: Japan's Textile Pioneers; traveling exhibition, catalog); Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan; Morris Museum, Morristown, New Jersey (Green from the Get Go: International Contemporary Basketmakers, catalog). Recipient: First Prize, Arte & Arte alla Torre delle Arti di Bellagio, Como, Italy; Silver Award, 10th Kajima Sculpture Competition; Excellence Awards, 4th In Our Hands: an International Competition; Honorable Mention, Biennial, Women in the Textile Arts.