To mark the 35th anniversary of the city partnership between Osaka and Hamburg, three artists from Hamburg took part in the Art Osaka art fair in Osaka in 2024.
This year, we welcome artist Mae Kunimoto, who will be setting up her studio in Veddel for a two-month residency. She was selected by a jury of experts, which included the director of the Goethe-Institut Villa Kamogawa in Kyoto and the president of Art Osaka.
AiR Program:
Veddel Art Camp 2025 / Workshop for refugee children on Veddel
25 – 29.08.2025
Networking Europe / Artists Research and Conversations with Art Indeed Foundation, Groningen / 30.09 – 02.10.2025
Elbinsel Frauenfest / Workshop with neighborhood women activists
19.09.2025
Veddel Soul Kitchen / Co-cooking with neighbors at Café Nova
01.10.2025
Exhibition Opening / HyCP Veddel Space
08.10.2025
Artist Talk / with Murotani Tomoko (ART OSAKA Office), Julia Dautel (Ministry of Culture and Media), Mikiko Sato (Mikiko Sato Gallery),
Josephin Böttger, Mariella Mosler, Oliver Ross (AiR Osaka in 2024),
and Michael Kress (HyCP Artist Host and Jury member)
12.10.2025, 15.00 h
HyCP Veddel Space
About Mae Kunimoto:
“When we try to understand something, we make relative judgements by gathering elements from our surroundings and the vast amount of information available to us. However, the process of selecting and interpreting this information is often shaped by preconceived notions or impressions, which can distort the true outline of the subject. I believe that to perceive things as accurately as possible, it is essential to engage in continuous and careful observation.
Through my work with metal – a material that responds directly and unequivocally to every action taken upon it – I seek to explore and carefully select contours with attentiveness and care. I see the process of making not only as a means of deepening my understanding of the material and the subject of expression, but also as a metaphor for the importance of observing others and the world with thoughtfulness and clarity”.
Mae Kunimoto – Air from Osaka
CV
1996 Born in Osaka, Japan
EDUCATIONS
April 2017 – March 2021
Faculty of Craft, Osaka University of Arts, Osaka, Japan
Bachelor of Craft in Metal Craft (Mar. 2021)
EXHIBITIONS
-Solo Exhibition
Nov. 2023, OUTLINE, gekilin., Osaka, Japan
Nov. 2024, CHILDHOOD, gekilin., Osaka, Japan
Selected Group Exhibition
Feb. 2022, Osaka Indecompe 2022, TRI-FOLD, Osaka, Japan
May 2023, 20 page vol.1, gekilin., Osaka, Japan
Feb. 2024, OSAKA ART MARKET, Grand Front Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Aug. 2024, OSAKA DOPE!, Shibuya Hikarie, Tokyo, Japan
AWARDS
Grand Prize The 12th Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado Commemorative Netsuke Competition, 2020
Department Prize Graduate Exhibition, OUA, 2021
Mae is a sculptor who works with metal, involving people in her work to provide a participative process for the metal.
During her first stay, she led a workshop for children in the holiday program at Veddel, where metal plates were worked to create printing plates for color compositions and textures. These works were exhibited at the Veddel Festival.
Next, Mae invites people from Veddel to take part in a workshop that transforms art into cuisine by shaping metal strips into the silhouettes of the participants. First, photos are taken of the participants, which are then transformed into silhouettes. This silhouette serves as the basis for the metalwork, which creates an elongated mold.
These shapes inspire a Japanese noodle soup, which introduces the art and beauty of Japan in the second part of another workshop.
These artistic approaches gave new impetus to the exchange between art in Hamburg and Osaka. Contemporary art and culture live from their protagonists, and sustainable cultural promotion makes this vital work possible.
The Osaka Hamburg Artist in Residence Program (AIR) is a cooperation between the City of Osaka and the City of Hamburg for the 35th anniversary of the sister cities partnership. Special thanks to: Ms. Tomoko Murotani, Julia Dautel, ART OSAKA, Mikiko Sato Gallery, Association for the Promotion of Contemporary Art in Japan (APCA Japan), and the Goethe-Institut Villa Kamogawa.
Jury:
Yuji Oshita, Curator of Nakanoshima Art Museum
Enzio Wetzel, Director of Goethe-Institut Villa Kamogawa
Michael Kress, Hyper Cultural Passenger
“The first selection for the Hamburg Scholarship for artists from Osaka was an intensive journey through the art landscape of the Japanese cultural metropolis. All applications showed unique and intensive creativity. The high quality of the artists’ works was consistently extraordinary, demonstrating the diversity and vibrancy of the art scene in Osaka. As different as the media and techniques are, what all the works have in common is an intensive examination of the themes of our time.
As a jury member, it was not easy to make a selection, as each of these incredible artists deserved this new scholarship.
We look forward to this year’s artist-in-residence and hope for a long-lasting collaboration with the artists and the art world from Osaka”.
Jury Statement by Michael Kress:
Please Learn more:
Mae’s Instagram.
Art Osaka on Instagram → @artosaka.jp
Art Osaka on Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/artosaka.jp
With the kind support of the
Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media/
and the Hamburg Mitte District Office
In collaboration with the ART OSAKA Office,
the Goethe-Institut Villa Kamogawa and
Mikiko Sato Gallery
A special thanks to Felix Hellenkamp (steel arts) for supporting us with expertise on metal, lending tools, and supplying materials!
