Miyawaki Aiko

1929｜Shizuoka – 2014｜Kanagawa
Miyawaki (maiden name: Araki) spent her childhood in Atami, Shizuoka. She graduated from the Department of History of Japan Women’s University in 1952 and studied at the Department of Fine Arts of Bunka Gakuin in 1953. From 1957 to 1966, she lived in various areas of Europe and the U.S., producing paintings that emphasized the texture of materials and three-dimensional works made from metal and glass. In 1967, she received the Purchase Award at the Guggenheim International Sculpture Exhibition for a sculpture made of brass pipes. She married the architect Isozaki Arata in 1972. From the late 1970s onward, she continued to create her iconic Utsurohi, a series of linear sculptures made from stainless steel wire rods installed in various spaces both in Japan and abroad. She remained fully active well into her later years.

Miyawaki Aiko 《Work》1967
Photo: Nakagawa Shu