realism in stitch.

The work of Japanese artist Satoru Aoyama is an incredible trick of the eye. The work appears as a photo realist painting or drawing but in fact is a machine embroidered work. His skill at translating different textures and surfaces is astounding and his replication of the banal is poetic.


It seems as if his work has a fair amount of variation in content from political pieces, to traditional still life imagery, to banal images of his studio. I of course am drawn to the most ordinary in subject matter.


As one press release stated:

Within the context of art classification, Aoyama’s work poses an interesting discussion on the traditional distinction between craftwork and the boundaries of masculinity, and the issues on the dividing line between craft and fine art.


I seriously cannot begin to understand the technical process of his work but would love to see it in person and even more so love to see him working with his machine. My understanding is much of his subtlety comes out of interchanging the colors of his lower and upper bobbin.


His website is weird and his gallery has a sparse amount of work shown but I am happy to see what I can from him.


An interesting quote from him in regards to the "intersecting of the contemporary and the traditional", he replied,

More and more I feel that an academic understanding of art history and tradition is essential to artists working in this chaotic world. It is dangerous to stubbornly impose one’s values on audiences. In reality, the process of making art and the context in which you are working are the foundation of mature work of art. I’ve been considering the ways in which I can create a ‘contemporary art’ from those two fundamental factors – the process and the context.