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Shozo Michikawa + Trey Trahan "The Sound of the Mountains"
Sokyo
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Shozo Michikawa, Trey Trahan
Kyoto, April 13, 2025 ― Sokyo (Furumonzen）is pleased to present “The Sound of the Mountains”, a collaboration between ceramic artist Shozo Michikawa and design architect Trey Trahan. The show features 29 of Michikawa's latest ceramic artworks alongside 11 natural stones arranged by Trahan.
Grounded in shared fundamental elements of both art and architecture —such as form, nature, space, material, and environment, this exhibition has been built upon the inspiring and innovative dialogue between Michikawa and Trahan. Much like the subtle resonance of ‘the sound of the mountain’, the quiet interplay between their sensibilities is expressed in the poetic conversation between sculpture and stone.
Michikawa’s works are distinguished by their spiraling forms—at once forceful and serene, embodying both dynamic energy and a solitary stillness. These sculptural gestures echo the landscapes of Lake Toya and Mount Usu in Hokkaido, where the artist was born and raised. Shaped by an environment where beauty and threat coexist, his work resonates with a deep, almost spiritual awareness of the natural world: its grandeur and grace, but also its silence and latent power.
Michikawa’s previous approach involved carving into the exterior of a clay mass with wire while shaping the form on a rotating wheel. In this exhibition, however, he introduces a groundbreaking unprecedented method in his practice: cutting into the interior of the clay. Through this innovative process, he has realized new works in several of his signature series, including Volcano Sculptural Form, Kohiki Sculptural Form, Kohiki Natural Ash Sculptural Form, and Tanka with Silver Sculptural Form.
Michikawa approaches clay with a profound sincerity, attuned to the forms the clay itself inherently wishes to take, and drawing out the material’s fullest potential in an instant with instinctive precision. There is an improvisational quality to his process, which seems to echo his optimistic attitude towards life itself.
Trahan presents a selection of natural stones within the gallery space, symbolizing the harmony between Michikawa’s sculptural works and the natural world. In conceiving the spatial design for this exhibition, he draws inspiration from the stone arrangements at Ryōan-ji Temple (Kyoto). Upon entering the gallery’s Japanese-style room, visitors encounter three large stones that evoke the grandeur and strength of nature. In the white cube space at the back, five Yaku-ishi (functional stepping stones traditionally used by attendants during tea ceremonies) from the Katsura River (Kyoto) are carefully placed. Linking these two spaces, a cylindrical Tsuka-ishi (usually stones used to solidify or strengthen the foundation of a house) is set in the tokonoma (recessed space in a Japanese-style reception room), while Moriyama-ishi — stones often associated with Japanese garden designer Jihei Ogawa—are arranged beneath the staircase and along transitional pathways, serving as bases for displaying artworks. This exhibition invites the viewer to reflect on the life cycle of clay emerging from stone, while reaffirming the presence of art within the natural world.
Trahan has designed the USA pavilion for the at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, and this exhibition will be held concurrently with the Expo. In an uncertain, complex, uncertain, and ambiguous era, the exhibition aims to foster cross-border exchange through art, bringing together people from the U.S. and Japan, Osaka and Kyoto, as well as from all over the world, with the goal of shaping a better future.
Grounded in shared fundamental elements of both art and architecture —such as form, nature, space, material, and environment, this exhibition has been built upon the inspiring and innovative dialogue between Michikawa and Trahan. Much like the subtle resonance of ‘the sound of the mountain’, the quiet interplay between their sensibilities is expressed in the poetic conversation between sculpture and stone.
Michikawa’s works are distinguished by their spiraling forms—at once forceful and serene, embodying both dynamic energy and a solitary stillness. These sculptural gestures echo the landscapes of Lake Toya and Mount Usu in Hokkaido, where the artist was born and raised. Shaped by an environment where beauty and threat coexist, his work resonates with a deep, almost spiritual awareness of the natural world: its grandeur and grace, but also its silence and latent power.
Michikawa’s previous approach involved carving into the exterior of a clay mass with wire while shaping the form on a rotating wheel. In this exhibition, however, he introduces a groundbreaking unprecedented method in his practice: cutting into the interior of the clay. Through this innovative process, he has realized new works in several of his signature series, including Volcano Sculptural Form, Kohiki Sculptural Form, Kohiki Natural Ash Sculptural Form, and Tanka with Silver Sculptural Form.
Michikawa approaches clay with a profound sincerity, attuned to the forms the clay itself inherently wishes to take, and drawing out the material’s fullest potential in an instant with instinctive precision. There is an improvisational quality to his process, which seems to echo his optimistic attitude towards life itself.
Trahan presents a selection of natural stones within the gallery space, symbolizing the harmony between Michikawa’s sculptural works and the natural world. In conceiving the spatial design for this exhibition, he draws inspiration from the stone arrangements at Ryōan-ji Temple (Kyoto). Upon entering the gallery’s Japanese-style room, visitors encounter three large stones that evoke the grandeur and strength of nature. In the white cube space at the back, five Yaku-ishi (functional stepping stones traditionally used by attendants during tea ceremonies) from the Katsura River (Kyoto) are carefully placed. Linking these two spaces, a cylindrical Tsuka-ishi (usually stones used to solidify or strengthen the foundation of a house) is set in the tokonoma (recessed space in a Japanese-style reception room), while Moriyama-ishi — stones often associated with Japanese garden designer Jihei Ogawa—are arranged beneath the staircase and along transitional pathways, serving as bases for displaying artworks. This exhibition invites the viewer to reflect on the life cycle of clay emerging from stone, while reaffirming the presence of art within the natural world.
Trahan has designed the USA pavilion for the at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, and this exhibition will be held concurrently with the Expo. In an uncertain, complex, uncertain, and ambiguous era, the exhibition aims to foster cross-border exchange through art, bringing together people from the U.S. and Japan, Osaka and Kyoto, as well as from all over the world, with the goal of shaping a better future.
Schedule | Apr 26 (Sat) 2025-Jun 11 (Wed) 2025 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://sokyogallery.com/en/exhibitions/150-shozo-michikawa-trey-trahan-the-sound/overview/ | ||||
| Venue | Sokyo https://sokyogallery.com/en/ | ||||
| Location | 381-2 Motomachi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 605-0089 | ||||
| Access | 1 minute walk from exit 2 at Sanjo Station on the Keihan line, 5 minute walk from exit 2 at Sanjo Keihan Station on the Tozai subway line, 10 minute walk from exit 1B at Kyoto-kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu line. | ||||
| Phone | 075-746-4456 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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