Yusuké Takemura is a Japanese-born contemporary artist, based in Canberra, Australia, whose sculptural practice focuses largely on the manipulation of glass. Takemura’s glass sculptures allow him to explore themes regarding the body, the conscious and unconscious mind and human experience. Through a combination of traditional glass blowing techniques and his own hand-carving techniques, Takemura creates poetic forms of subtle investigations into the infinite relationship between the bodily and sentient aspects of human existence.
The form of the ‘amphora’ vessel represents the human body, and the carved holes represent one’s mind and memories. The negative spaces within his glass sculptures recall the imperceptible existence of our consciousness. The voids are bound by glass connectors which mimic the grounding of the conscious and unconscious mind through a network of neural pathways. It is within this space between concrete form and the intangible capabilities of the mind that memories, feelings and the experience of life are housed. Within the space between the glass forms and empty voids, Takemura seeks to investigate his place as an individual existing within the bounds of society and the intangible landscape of his own mind.
Viewed from afar, the vessel is evocative of an abstracted human figure. Upon closer inspection, the object offers a complex surface created through cutting, grinding, polishing, yielding an ethereal shell perforated by organic-shaped voids. Takemura has been exploring the techniques that have informed this work for many years, gradually pushing their limits in order to balance positive and negative space while maintaining the structural integrity required of the glass. Glass is gently carved away to create fragile yet stable tracery glass structures. The inclusion of mirror and gold gilding and the movement from sculptural vessel to multi-media installation represents a significant evolution for his work.
In 2006, Takemura completed his Bachelor of Visual Arts at Kurashiki University of Sciene and the Arts in Japan. He continued his study in Australia, completing a Masters of Studio Art at the University of Sydney. Takemura’s works were gradually recognised and shortlisted for prestigious sculpture and glass art prizes including the FUSE Glass Prize in 2020. Takemura was invited by the Japan Foundation, New York to attend the GAS conference in Chicago, USA, in 2014. He was invited to exhibit at SOFA Chicago, USA, and Art16 in Hong Kong. Takemura has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally and his work is found in important, private collections globally.
