MASAMI TOKUDA

Masami Tokuda is a woodworker who lives and works in Kagoshima. His use of materials and techniques are rooted in traditional Japanese lacquering, and in addition to this are combined with new, contemporary processes such as plant dyeing up to ten or twenty times. Tokuda also adds a surface and coating treatment for durability and water resistance to each work. His woodwork takes the form of furniture, functional and non-functional objects including wood bowls, and tools. Sketching ideas in his mind, Tokuda refrains from conventional approaches and works intuitively, believing that his hands think about what to make, if he continuously moves them. Perceiving experiences through sound and not visuals, Tokuda states that he feels figures by hearing, rather than seeing. This notion is injected into his practice, honouring his values.