Bio

Aomi Kikuchi is a textile artist based in Kyoto, Japan. She holds a BFA from Kyoto University of Art & Design (Japan) and an MFA from Pratt Institute (USA). Aomi has exhibited her work throughout the world including at Woman’s Essence Show 2020 (Rome), Today’s Silk Road Exhibition (China), LA Art Show Modern + Contemporary (California), and annual Japan Contemporary Art and Craft Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Museum). 

Her work is based on Japanese aesthetic principles and the teachings of the Buddha.“Wabi-sabi”, a well known philosophy that beauty is found in imperfections and “Mono-no-aware”, the feeling of sympathy for that which changes or perishes such as the seasons and all living things. The Buddha states that nothing exists in the same state forever, that what we believe to exist is uncertain and that we can only recognize with our five senses. People feel suffering when they seek something everlasting yet while existence is not eternal, the activities of matter and life are conceptually infinite.

Aomi takes inspiration from the fragility and fleetingness found in natural cycles and in textile. With over 30 years, Aomi has dedicated extensive and immersive practice to Japanese Kimono Haute Couture, Yusen dyeing techniques, and silk fabrics after becoming a fashion designer. This background inspires her artistic exploration and her artwork utilizes various textile materials and techniques including extremely thin fibers, goose down, and cotton flower along with knitting, weaving, embroidery, and other craft techniques. 

She is currently working on several series of  installation pieces, innovative embroidery works, and sculptures. In these works she explores the concept of impermanence and infinity through the use of biology and nature with textiles and waste.

Artist Statement

I make sculptures, wall pieces and garments using textiles and found objects to explore Japanese aesthetics and the philosophy of Buddha. “Wabi-Sabi”, the beauty found in imperfections, and ”Mono-no-aware”, the feeling of sympathy for changing or perishing phenomena or substances, are two philosophical aesthetics that define my work. Closely related to the philosophy of Buddha, these can be summarized in three key words: impermanence, insubstantiality, and suffering. 

With freedom and flexibility, I combine acquired knowledge and textiles such as dyeing, weaving, sewing, and knitting, to create works that transcend genres and conventional rules. In addition, I experiment by destroying and damaging materials and actively use scraps and junk that come from both my working practice and the environment around me. I utilize "deconstruction" via a series of construction, destruction, and reconstruction to mirror natural life cycles. Whatever is created in this world grows, ages, breaks, and dies. Life is revision: When one thing dies, another is produced in evolution, in infinity. Even suffering doesn’t last forever. Substances exist, yet constantly change their shapes due to chemical reactions. Inspired by this phenomena, I practice it with my materials. And in making (and re-making) I am advocating, as Buddha does, for a transient and intangible world. The activities I engage with as an artist will continue beyond me, infinitely while changing their modes. My work addresses infinity as the succession of fleeting and brittle activities. I create art to inspire dialogue and reflection on these concepts through materials and aesthetic philosophies.