A graduate of Tama Art University‘s Department of Information Design, it isn’t hard to guess that artist Hiroto Ikeuchi (1990) has a thing for nifty hi-tech. As a kid, he devoured Star Wars, Gundam and Zoids animations, and was totally into plastic model production, two things which continue to influence his current creative output which combines ready-made plastic models with industrial parts, separating the objects from their original context and imparting them with an entirely new value and meaning through their amalgamation. Earlier this year, Paris-based cult fashion house Balenciaga revealed its collaboration with the Tokyo-based artist for its 2022 Spring Collection campaign, featuring imagery of models fully clad in Balenciaga, but also wearing Ikeuchi’s intricately crafted tech-infused masks, and in one case, a full-fledged exoskeleton.
As we speak, a number of these masks, in addition to the aforementioned exoskeleton, has been put on display on the premises of the Balenciaga boutique in Tokyo‘s Aoyama district (on through Jan 4). And speaking of exhibitions, Ikeuchi’s biggest solo exhibition will open at SAI gallery at Miyashita Park in Shibuya on Sat – Jan 8, presenting a conceptual space with full-body suits created in collaboration with robotics company Skeletonics. Visitors will also be able to experience new large-scale works created in collaboration with the interactive design company Prototype Inc which is active across a wide range of genres including design, technology and art. All these works will be exhibited alongside a selection of the artist’s previous works, providing an insight in his development and inspiration over the years.
Balenciaga
5-1-3 Minami Aoyama (Aoyama)
Tokyo 107-0062
Telephone: +81 3 66966000
Daily 11am-8pm
SAI
Miyashita Park, 6-20-10 Jingumae, Third Floor (Jingumae)
Tokyo 150-0001
Telephone: +81 3 67125706
Daily 11am-9pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
