Ikuko Iwamoto's work is inspired largely by her own curiosity of the microscopic world – the cells, genes and organic forms that are invisible to the naked eye. Her meticulous attention to detail and adept technical skills enable her to uniquely interpret the world that inspires her, creating ceramic sculptures which take their reference from the tiniest of sea creatures to the minutest of micro-organisms.

Over the years Cavaliero Finn has seen Ikuko’s work and confidence grow and while her tabletop ceramic works which the gallery starting showing in 2004 are still very popular, the development of Ikuko’s sculptural pieces has been really interesting.

Making sculptural works is not new to Ikuko, it is in fact a practise that has laid dormant for several years from when she was at Tezukayama College in Japan. In recent years Ikuko’s freestanding sculptural forms have been translated into wall mounted works making them more two-dimensional and thrusting them firmly into the realms of fine art. It is a progression that won her the Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramic Prize in 2019.

Speaking of Ikuko’s work at the Young Masters Art Prize exhibition, curator and art historian Stephen Feeke said: “It’s just totally original, with a reference to art history in a very interesting way, it’s surrealism, [referencing] people like Cornell, and yet it feels utterly, utterly, original in its use of ceramic and its use of mixed media.”

These new small, wall-mounted sculptures derive from a series of large framed sculptures called “Golden Pearl." the first of which was created in 2018. These smaller, more accessible sculptures are unframed and can be hung singularly or in groups as an installation.