Ken YASHIKI – Biography

Born 1983 in Tokyo where he still lives and works.

After growing up in the United States and Singapore, and graduating with a degree in design and textiles, Japanese artist Ken Yashiki took up kimekomi. This technique, which dates to the Edo period (1603-1868), generally consists of carving dolls before inserting pieces of fabric into the grooves of the wood to create a garment. These dolls are handed down from generation to generation, and are exhibited every year on March 3, during the Hina Matsuri, or little girls’ festival.  The artist has replaced wood with Styrofoam and pieces of kimono with textiles already worn. Her first works were fashioned from her daughter’s old clothes.

“I feel that this Kimekomi technique represents the transition of an act of praying to God to an object that connects the wishes from parent to children and on to grandchildren. I create my artwork as a testament that these wishes are fulfilled.

At first, I used the old clothes that my daughter wore to prove that my child was alive. Her character accumulated and proved to exist with a character with an exaggerated posture. From the perspective of her parents, her past was paused and gathered. By seeing the work with her in front of me, I can realize that she really exists now. I could imagine her in the future.

And recently, the subject has changed from relatives to acquaintances and society, with the conscience of human beings. To prove that the wishes that have been passed down from the past have been fulfilled I get modern old clothes and make it with the technique of wood grain.”

By applying this ancestral technique to contemporary art, Ken Yashiki offers a fresh approach to portraiture and representation, marked by transition and heritage. His work underlines the profound connection between past, present and future, while honoring Japanese tradition. These works symbolize memory, the remnants of man’s passage on earth, and explore the link between materials and human histories.  They invite the viewer to discover the beauty hidden in everyday objects, and to reflect on the meaning of human existence through the clothes we wear.

Exhibitions and fairs:

2025
Kimekomi – Galerie Artima – Paris – France
Opening – GoyoGallery – Tokyo – Japon
Urban Art Fair – Paris – Art to be Gallery – France
Art Central Hong Kong – GoyoGallery
Art Up – Foire d’Art contemporain de Lille – Art to be Gallery – France
 

2024
Sense of Season – NEWoMan Art Window – Yokohama
Kimekomii – Art to Be Gallery – Lille – France
Urban Art Fair – Paris – Art to be Gallery – France
 

2023
Moderne Art Fair – Paris – Art to be Gallery – France
To be continue – Art Capsule + – Tokyo – Japan
Urban Art Fair – Paris – Art to be Gallery – France
Boundary Laundry – Foam Contemporary – Tokyo – Japan
Art Up – Foire d’Art contemporain de Lille – Art to be Gallery – France
Hand in hand – Koichi Yamamura Gallery – Tokyo – Japan
Only holy story – Gallery Nichido -Tokyo – Japan

2022
Flow & connect – Hiro Okamoto Gallery – Tokyo – Japan
Hankyu Umeda New Stars Art Exhibition 2022 – Osaka – Japan