Biography
Hiroki Fukushima (born in Yamaguchi, Japan) is a Japanese metal artist who works primarily with iron, copper and aluminum to create free-standing and hanging sculptures and functional objects (since 1972). He graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, where he received B.F.A in Crafts and M.F.A in Metal Hammering. In 1974, he established his art studio “Rottan” in Yokohama, Japan and has since been doing commission works for museums, temples, restaurants and residences throughout Japan. Works include: sculpture, wall relief, door, gates, grating, signage, lighting fixture and craft.
Hiroki was influenced by the Japanese art dealer, Mr. Toshio Ogawa. In 1970, he was hired to make a small vase that was placed invisible to the viewers inside of another vase for Mr. Ogawa. Mr. Ogawa commented on his work that he “continues to never to cut corners on any small or easy work and face each work with sincerity”. After the work, Mr. Ogawa commissioned him to make the gate, door, and stair railing for his vacation house and continued to support Fukushima as an artist. Hiroki still carries Mr. Ogawa’s words to create his works even in the present day. It was also at Mr. Ogawa’s house where Hiroki saw Diego Giacometti’s table and became inspired to express reflective figures through metal forging.
Hiroki had his first solo exhibition, "Metal and Living Space", at Amelia Gallery in Tokyo, Japan in 1975. In 1983, the Murakoshi Gallery commissioned him to transform Rosanjin Kitaoji's original ceramic vase into a lighting fixture. In 1994, one of his large-scale commission works at Saikai Pearl Sea Center in Nagasaki, Japan was featured in Japan Architect Magazine. In 2010, he mounted aluminum wall relief in Tokyu Toranomon Office Building, The Capitol Hotel Tokyu and Shinchoji Temple Tokyo Betsuin and aluminum cabinet relief in Shoan Morinoie Condominium.
In 2012, Hiroki moved to the United States to continue his artistic explorations at his home studio in San Francisco and at the Crucible in Oakland. Hiroki's sculptures were exhibited in the United States for the first time at The San Francisco Arts of Pacific Asia Show in San Francisco, California in February 2011.
His sculptures are currently exhibited at Gallery Japonesque (San Francisco, USA), Narukawa Gallery (Kanagawa, Japan), Okumura Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), and Suzuki Gallery (Tokyo, Japan). His craft pieces are exhibited at Asian Art Museum Store (San Francisco, USA) and Insite antiques and design (San Francisco, USA). His craft works were featured in San Francisco Asian Art Museum Magazine on their summer 2013 issue.