Niyoko Ikuta

Art Brokerage: Niyoko Ikuta Japanese Artist: b. 1953. She was born in Kyoto, Japan. Niyoko Ikuta sculpts with glass, creating elegant layered shapes that seem at once severe and inviting. There's a glacial quality to Ikuta's sculptures, imparted by both the ocean blue palette of soft blues and marine greens as well as the brittle edges of each layer of glass. In an interview with V&A, she says, "In creating my pieces it is like imagining an architectural space when viewing blueprints, deciding on an image by reading into the intentions of the architect, or imbuing a space with dynamic energy to bring it to life." Her sculptures do seem almost like three-dimensional blueprints. They could be compared to a wire model, implying the way a shape might take up space or giving us a sense of motion without actual movement. The result is ethereal: delicate curves and swirls that seem like they could evaporate at any moment. Ikuta says of her work, "My motifs are derived from feelings of gentleness and harshness, fear, limitless expansion experienced through contact with nature, images from music, ethnic conflict, the heart affected by joy and anger, and prayer." Listings wanted.