Osumi Yukie was designated a Living National Treasure in 2015, and is the first female artist to receive this honor in her field. She specializes in tankin, or hammered vessels and applies the traditional technique of nunomezōgan to the decorative and functional pieces that she creates. This process involves hammering metal-leaf or wire into a fine, mesh-like grid incised into the surface of the metal. Through her designs of wind, waves, clouds and streams, Osumi creates a formless and flowing affinity with nature.
She graduated in 1969 from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts and afterwards studied under Kashima Ikkoku (1898-1996), Sekiya Shiro (1907-1994) and Katsura Moriyuki (1914-1996). For one year, she trained as an artist in the United Kingdom under a sponsorship by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. Osumi was most recently awarded a residency at The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art in 2015.
- Selected Exhibitions:
- 2015–2018 Asia Week | New York
- 2017 The 64th Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition | Japan
- 2016 Creating Handicrafts, Living National Treasures Exhibition | Wako, Tokyo
- 2015 The Freer and Sackler Residency in Japanese Metalwork Design | Washington D.C.
- 2013 Contemporary Kōgei Styles in Japan, Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens | Delray Beach, Florida