MASAOMI YASUNAGA: TREADING THE EARTH

For his first solo exhibition with Lisson Gallery in China, the Japanese sculptor Masaomi Yasunaga presents a new body of experimental and expressive vessel sculptures along with recently developed tablet works comprised of hand-made mosaic tiles forming intricate images. 

February 22 – April 19, 2025

Inspired by cobblestone streets — which are shaped over time by countless footsteps — the exhibition centres around the notion of ‘stepping on the earth,’ conjuring a meditation on how human interaction and movement leave lasting traces and memories. Inspired by his upbringing within Japan’s Catholic minority and ensuing appreciation for aesthetics of Western origin, Yasunaga honours a global range of vessel forms and ritual objects. With titles referencing physical states of being — empty, melting, fused, molted, shedding, skeleton, flesh and bone — the artist evokes nature’s physicality and spirituality’s ascension into earthenware, eliciting an emotional connection with the viewer.

Yasunaga’s new Mosaic series is a nod to an artistic style of far-away places and long-ago times. The works extend Yasunaga’s exploration of multiple techniques, both ancient and cutting edge. Yasunaga’s pixelated tablets, which depict compositions of vessel containers in various arrangements, extend the vessel metaphors achieved by the raw and rough texture of his three-dimensional works.

To enhance the more than thirty works displayed on walls and pedestals, the gallery floor is covered with an organic material that absorbs the footprints of visitors. As the audience moves through the space, the floor gradually accumulates footprints and marks, forming a shifting trail that alludes to the passage of time and to the impermanence of human presence. The presentation invites viewers to experience the depth of Yasunaga’s conceptual and material investigations and his unique approach to the intersection of time, body, and object.

At the heart of Yasunaga’s practice is the elemental force of fire. In pursuit of ‘fundamental beauty’, the artist considers the flames as a filter and the kiln that controls the flame as a time machine. This represents Yasunaga’s intention to remove his will and ego, making room for a return to nature. Through meticulous manipulation of his singular glaze forms and firing techniques, Yasunaga transforms a decorative element into an expressive force that embodies both intention and unpredictability.