MUSE FOR THE MODERN AGE
April 1 - September 30, 2025
First US exhibition of Japanese Artist Hideki Iinuma
Opening Reception April 1, 2025, 5:30-7:30
Poet and/the Bench, 11 Throckmorton, Mill Valley, CA
Muse for the Modern Age celebrates the bold, self-possessed figures of Tokyo-based Hideki Iinuma’s sculptural world.
The figures are carved from a mass of wood, showing a new scale of sculpture. The artist uses both modern practices and the old ichiboku-zukuri technique, wherein the head and torso are carved from a single block of wood. He adorns his sculptures in intricate, fashion decoration: elaborate attire and tailored modern design. He paints in thick coats of acrylic paint, which still allows the wood grain to show through.
Hideki’s figures manifest presence that is effortless yet powerful, embodying a muse for the modern age: independent, expressive, and unafraid to take up space. They stand as testaments to identity and art as a reflection of the ever-evolving female spirit.
Hideki Iinuma was born in Matsumoto (Nagano Prefecture) in 1975. The artsy Matsumoto is a gateway to the Japan Alps and a destination in its own right. Apart from being home to Japan's oldest extant castle, it is also the birthplace of avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama.
During his academic years, Hideki moved to Tokyo and Nagoya. In 2002, he went to France for further studies and later held exhibitions in countries including Germany, Italy, Switzerland and The Netherlands. His artistic creative abilities gained international recognition in Europe, even before Japan. This is his first show in the US.
View the Collection at Poet and/the Bench
Read more about Hideki Iinuma in our Conversations with an Artist Series
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