Tomohiro Inaba is a Japanese sculptor born in 1984 in Tochigi Prefecture.
“I would like my creations to be ‘the sculptures that keep engaging with the viewers through their imagination.’ This is because I consider one of the ways of art is to be instrumental in bringing the viewers ‘a fruitful time’ to fantasize about something that eyes cannot see.”
He completed his doctoral studies at Bunsei University of Arts in 2011, earning a Ph.D. in sculpture. His works are made from galvanized iron wire, a material that begins to rust upon contact with air, symbolizing the fleeting nature of existence. He calls his approach “gradient to blank,” where solid forms gradually dissolve into open space.
Inaba’s sculptures capture the moment of transformation, as if the subject is disappearing into thin air. His deer and fawn pieces have solid, anatomicaly correct bases that explode into chaotic tangles of wire. From one angle the animal appears whole, from another it seems to disintegrate, creating a visual illusion of movement and impermanence.
He has exhibited widely, including at the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale in 2012 and Tokyo Design Week in Milan. His works have been shown at galleries across Japan and internationally. He has recieved several awards, including the Grand Prize at the Bunsei University Graduate Works exhibition.
Inaba leaves “blanks” in his sculptures, inviting viewers to complete the stories with their own imagination. He wants his art to provide a “fruitful time” for fantasizing about the invisible. His work is a meditation on life, death, and the spaces in between.
Art Fact: Wire sculpture as an art form emerged in the early 20th century, pioneered by artists like Alexander Calder who “drew” with wire in three dimensions. Ruth Asawa later developed looped-wire techniques in the 1940s, blurring the boundary between art and craft. Inaba continues this tradition, pushing wire sculpture into new conceptual territory.
From solid form to fragile thread,
A deer dissolves, a story spread.
In wire’s twist, the moment stays,
A fleeting glimpse of passing days.
He bends the iron, shapes the air,
Leaves blanks for us to find them there.
In every void, a world takes birth,
The poetry of disappearing earth.