A Cloud from Mandalay

Ito Moegi is an important figure in the world of contemporary Japanese metalworking who has made a speciality of using aluminium as his chosen medium. On the one hand fascinated by industrial processes used in the manufacture of engine blocks and aeronautical components, he has also been drawn to the artisanal skills used in Japan to produce hammered aluminium cookware for domestic and restaurant use. In pursuit of his stated aim of 'incorporating industrial materials into the realm of the hand-crafted (kogyo seihin o teshigoto no sekai e tori-ireru)', he has developed an extraordinary ability to cold-forge sensuous, billowing forms out of huge sheets of aluminium, a talent that won him prizes at the annual Japan Art Exhibition (Nitten) in both 1979 and 1984.