Kyoko Ibe: An Installation

Kyoko Ibe: Akai Ito, 2003. Photograph by Karl P. Warden.

Exhibition Dates: On extended display.

"Akai Ito" by Kyoko Ibe is presented in the atrium lobby of the Institute for Paper Science and Technology.

Kyoko Ibe is one of Japan's most innovative paper artists, creating large-scale installations using washi, the traditional handmade Japanese paper. Her artwork pushes the limits of traditional paper art using modern technology, while still respecting traditional art. She believes that washi is a definitive example of the four principles of Japanese aesthetics: harmony, respect, purity, and tranquillity. Her work has received numerous Japanese and international awards, and has been displayed in twenty countries.

Kyoko Ibe was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1941. In the 1960s she began experimenting with using washi as a form of art. She graduated from the Kyoto Institute of Technology in 1963 and again in 1967 with her Masters degree. She is currently a professor at the Kyoto Institute.