Tanaka Yū (b. 1989), a highly creative, young female artist based in Kyoto, focuses exclusively on clay sculpture. Inspired by the earlier Sôdeisha group, she strives to create forms that encapsulate both space and air and question the very nature of functionality. The softness, texture and pliability of cotton cloth colored with traditional dyes for such standard materials are her main point of departure. These trompe l'oeil clay sculptures of Japanese wrapping cloths seemingly enclosed hidden vessels or boxes.
