Rikie Shojiguchi (1972- ) is a talented glass artist from Toyama who has an uncanny ability to instil warmth into the material of often-cool glass. Yufuku is proud to hold her very first solo exhibition in Tokyo. Shojiguchi's glass represents the very best of contemporary Japanese glass art, and we hope you will come and appreciate the beauty of her works - they are the manifestations of her very person, and one will soon realize that the artist and her work are inseparable.

Using soda glass, Shojiguchi first melts her glass using a furnace-typed kiln. After the glass is cooled, she warms and blows her glass pieces within a 'glory hole,' a small kiln used to re-heat melted glass. Each piece is blown separately. After the blown glass is cooled, Shojiguchi uses a small glass cutter/polisher to trim her pieces in half. After trimming, the artist proceeds to cut the edges of her works and then 'damage' the surfaces of her clear glass using the polisher, giving her work its unique, milky white translucence. After each piece is completely polished, her works are attached together to create a composite whole. Taking nearly a month to complete a single piece, Shojuguchi's technique helps the artist create works that are, in essence, the embodiment of her own gentle nature.

We hope you will enjoy the soothing nature of Rikie Shojiguchi's abstract glass works.