Hiroshi Yamano – Exquisite Japanese Glass Designs

This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.

Hiroshi Yamano "Scene Of Japan" #53, 2017 Glass
Hiroshi Yamano “Scene Of Japan” #53, 2017 Glass

Hiroshi Yamano is a Japanese Glass Designer. His glass art shows the creative power of cultural exchange by combining old traditions with new techniques from Japan, Europe, and the United States. It also reflects his search for experiences that go beyond borders. His pieces often have silvery glass fish that look like they are always moving. They slip in and out of elegant vessel shapes that constantly move like water. Referring to the ocean as both a bridge and a barrier between Japan and the West, his art uses the sea as an evocative symbol of the conflicts between tradition and change, isolation and openness – an elemental space that both encloses and embraces the complex dialogues of personal and national identity.

Education

He studied at the Tokyo Glass Crafts Institute until 1984 and at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, until 1989. 

Biography

Yamano was attracted to the medium after seeing a display of Scandinavian glass in Kyoto. Yamano spent some time travelling around Europe before studying glass in depth. He then studied at prestigious United States and Japanese schools, ultimately receiving a master’s degree in fine arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology. 

In 1988, Yamano was an assistant at Penland School, Penland, North Carolina.

Hiroshi Yamano's From East to West "Scene of Japan"
Hiroshi Yamano’s From East to West “Scene of Japan”

Yamano was an instructor at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington, five times between 1991 and 2005, along with several other international organisations. 

He was a lecturer at the Tacoma Glass Museum in 2006. 

Views on Glass

To Yamano, the glass vessel could be sculptural, beautiful, and functional. It also tends to incorporate the inside and the outside of the piece. Usually, he finds a way to incorporate fish into his glasswork and creates pieces with a great dynamic force for years to come. However, many of his newer pieces are more elegant spherical shapes with a fish drawer over or near them, reflecting both innovation and tradition.

Recognition

  • Work was the subject of an exhibition at the 1990 Grohe Glass Gallery, Boston; 
  • included in 1986 ‘Japan Modern Decorative Art,’ Tokyo; 
  • 1986 ‘New . Glass from Japan and America,’ Switzerland; 
  • 1987 and 1990 ‘Glass in Japan,’ Tokyo; 1991 (V) Triennale of the Japan Glass Art Crafts Association, Heller Gallery, New York. 
  • He received a 1989 Creative Glass Center of America, Millville, New Jersey fellowship. 
  • The Rakow Commission, an annual award given to a leading glass artist, was received in 1991 from The Corning Museum of Glass.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

Hiroshi Yamano – Artist Biography – LewAllen Galleries. (n.d.). Hiroshi Yamano – Artist Biography – LewAllen Galleries; lewallengalleries.com. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://lewallengalleries.com/artist-biography.php?artistId=277901&artist=Hiroshi%20Yamano

Museum of Northwest Art. (2021, March 3). Hiroshi Yamano – Bio. MoNA. https://www.monamuseum.org/artist/hiroshi-yamano.

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