Yasuki Hiramatsu

Bio

Professor Yasuki Hiramatsu (1926–2012) stands as one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century Japanese jewellery, internationally celebrated for redefining the possibilities of metal within contemporary art jewellery. Born in Osaka in 1926, Hiramatsu forged an extraordinary career not only as a maker but also as an educator, becoming Professor at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and later Director of the Japan Jewellery Designers Association. Through both his teaching and practice, he played a pivotal role in establishing contemporary jewellery as a serious artistic discipline in Japan.

Widely honoured throughout his career, Hiramatsu became, in 1994, the first non-European recipient of the Golden Ring of Honour from the Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst in Hanau, followed by the Bavarian State Prize in 1996. His work has been extensively exhibited and is held in major public collections, including the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the Kumamoto Prefectural Traditional Crafts Center, Die Neue Sammlung in Munich, the Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

/ source: The Scottish Gallery & Gallery Marzee

Statement

Yasuki Hiramatsu is considered one of the trailblazers of contemporary jewellery in Japan. Texture, form and light lie at the heart of his art and his work radiates simplicity, purity and strength. His aim, he said, ‘is to create forms with force and grace, which are built to bring the potential innate in materials into full play.’  With an indescribable sensory quality to the surface, these are independent, autonomous pieces of jewellery with an ancient quality that never strives to be simply decoration. 
/ source: Gallery Marzee