Watanabe Akira is a glass artist whose primary technique is kiriko (‘faceted cut’)
glass. While in college at Kyoto University, Watanabe became interested in glass
art through his exposure to Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Upon graduation, the artist
went to work for the Kamei Glass Co. where he learned to cut glass.
Since he became an independent artist in his late 30s, Watanabe has developed a
unique process called sekiso (‘lamination layer’), in which powdered gold, colored
glass grains, or the like, are dusted between several glass sheets to give a
decorative effect; the sheets are then fused by using an electric furnace to create
the base material with patterns of light captured inside the glass. He gives even
further meaning to his work by carefully hand polishing then with a piece of felt
and an abrasive compound. In 2008, he received the Medal with Purple Ribbon
from the Emperor of Japan.
Selected Awards and Exhibitions
2016 Asia Week, New York, US
2014 From Crafts to Kōgei: In Commemoration of the 60th Japan Traditional Art Crafts
Exhibition | National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Tradition and Creation by Kyoto Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property Holders | Museum
of Kyoto, Japan