Ryokichi Mukai: His Works

 Mukai was born January 26, 1918 in Kyoto. He studied sculpture at the Kyoto Municipal School of Fine Arts and Crafts and graduated in sculpture from Tokyo School of Fine Arts. He was conscripted into the army in 1942 and sent to Rabaul where he remained until the end of the war. After the war, Mukai began making sculpture again in Kyoto. In 1950 he helped found the Kodo Bijutsu Kyokai (Action Art Association), and from the next year on the annual Kodo exhibitions were the main venue for his work.

In 1952, Mukai moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. He traveled to Europe in 1954, spending a year in Paris, and returned to Japan in August 1955. During this period, Mukai received acclaim for his African Wood series of wood sculpture characterized by Perforations and curved surfaces.

In 1960 Mukai developed a new technique of casting aluminum and ZAS alloy from originals made in paraffin. He used this technique to make metal sculptures with complex forms, exemplified by Ant Castle, and began to draw international attention. He found the themes for these works in musical instruments, insects, and animals. The complex forms create an original world which has both poetic lyricism and a sense of anxiety probably related to the artist’s wartime experiences.

Mukai has produced a wide variety of art works used in architectural settings - tapestries, theater curtains, and decorative reliefs as well as free standing sculpture. He has received many commissions overseas as well as in Japan.

Mukai has been an advocate of a “sculptural city” in which sculpture and architecture are closely related in urban planning. He has actively participated in the outdoor sculpture exhibitions which have been held in Japan since about 1960 and has placed monumental sculptures in a number of cities including Ube, Toyama, and Sapporo.