- Ōsumi Yukie was designated Living National Treasure in 2015, and is the first female metalwork artist to receive this honor in history. She specializes in tankin, or hammered vessels. Osumi graduated in 1969 from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. Afterwards, she studied under Kashima Ikkoku (1898-1996), Sekiya Shirō (1907-1994), and Katsura Moriyuki (1914-1996). She also trained as an artist in the United Kingdom for a year under the sponsorship by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. She has received many honors and awards, and most recently in 2014, was the first to be awarded a residency at The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C.
Ōsumi applies the traditional technique nunome zōgan, or textile imprint inlay, in her works. This involves hammering metal-leaf or wire into a fine, mesh-like grid incised into the metal surfaces. Ōsumi creates decorative and functional objects, such as vases and tea utensils. Through her designs of wind, waves, clouds and streams, she strives to create an affinity with nature as formless and flowing.
Selected Exhibitions
2025 Asia Week New York, US
2024 Salon Art + Design, New York, US
2013- 2024 Asia Week New York, US
2023 Japan Traditional Kōgei Annual Exhibition, Japan
2023 Living National Treasure Annual Exhibition, Japan
2023 Osumi Yukie Metalwork Exhibition, Seiko House Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2022 Japan Metalwork Exhibition - Metropolitan Museum of Art 150th Anniversary Exhibition, New York, US
HOMO FABER, 12tone Gerden, Venice, San Giorgio Maggiore Church, MOA Museum
2016 Creating Handicrafts, Wako, Tokyo, Japan
Connecting Ceramics to the Future - Power of Traditional Crafts
Exhibition, National Crafts Museum, Japan
2015 SOFA Chicago, Illinois, US
2013 Contemporary Kōgei Styles in Japan, Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Delray Beach, Florida, US
2007 Beauty of Craftsmanship: 50 Years of Traditional Crafts, British Museum, London, UK
2003 50th Anniversary Exhibition of Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition "Beauty of Craftsmanship"
Selected Awards
2017 Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays
2014 61st Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan Kogei Association Holder's Award
2010 Received the Order of the Purple Ribbon
17th MOA Okada Mochiki Prize, Craft Division MOA Museum Award
2009 56th Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan Kogei Association Holder's Award
1991 Received the 4th MOA Okada Mochiki Prize, Craft Division Excellence Award
1st Katori Masahiko Prize
1987 34th Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan Kogei Association President's Award
Selected Public Collections
Agency for Cultural Affairs | Japan
Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art | Japan
MOA Museum | Shizuoka | Japan
Tamashin Historical Museum of Art | Tokyo, Japan
Kunitachi City | Tokyo, Japan
Iwata City Kaorino Museum | Shizuoka, Japan
Victoria & Albert Museum | London UK
Royal Museum in Edinburgh | Scotland
The Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York, US
National Museum of Asian Art Smithsonian Institution | Washington DC, US