Gaku, Master of Fruit and Vegetable Sculpture
Japanese artist Gaku sculpts motifs in fruits and vegetables and posts the results on social media. He eschews marble and wood in favour of bananas, avocados, kiwis and broccoli.
Armed with a set of knives, Gaku revisits the ancient practice of mukimono (literally ‘peeled thing’ in Japanese). By digging into the flesh of fruits and vegetables and playing with the texture of their skin, he produces complex geometric patterns, often inspired by Japanese traditions.
This art, which is celebrated in Thai culture and became popular in Japan in the 17th century, involves a race against the clock with every piece: the sculpture has to be finished before the fruit begins to rot. For a long time, mukimono featured flower, bird and dragon motifs, but Gaku draws inspiration from very different sources, hence his One Piece-aubergine and Dragon Ball Z-banana.
View this post on Instagram
TRENDING
-
Japanese Art: a Major Influence on the Work of Monet
Claude Monet, the figurehead of the impressionist movement, was strongly influenced by Japanese art and was an admirer of the work of Hokusai.
-
Shiseido Revisits The Biggest Trends in Japanese Beauty from the Last 30 Years
More than just a cosmetics brand, the Japanese brand Shiseido is also renowned for its invaluable bi-annual analyses of trends in makeup and hair, conducting surveys twice a year.
-
The Four Leaves Villa, The House That Mirrors Nature
Located in the heart of the Karuizawa forest in Japan, the Four Leaves Villa, designed by architecture studio Kias, blends into the landscape.
-
Monet’s Garden Dazzles in One Thousand Colours in Japan
Although Claude Monet’s original garden is located in Giverny in France, a faithful replica can be found, surprisingly, in the Japanese village of Kitagawa.
-
Noriyuki Misawa Makes Shoes an Art in Their Own Right
Noriyuki Misawa soon became fascinated by leather shoes and decided to do an apprenticeship in Tokyo to become a shoemaker.
