Ryoichi Yoshida - Artist Surreal from Japan

Review by Barbara Ellen Hamann

The artist expresses himself through his art. When we view an artist's work, it isn't long before we ask, "Who created this?" Sometimes we become more fascinated with the artist than with his work. In most cases, there is no need for the artist to introduce himself to the public - his art will accomplish that for him. Most often the art explains the artist more accurately than any public relations team could. Bravo to the artist who remains a recluse, who is aloof and anonymous except for his creations. It is quite possible that Ryoichi Yoshida is such an artist.

 

 

Little is known of Ryoichi Yoshida other than his homeland of Japan where he creates his life-like dolls from within his studio. His work reveals to us how enigmatic and complex a man he must be. A man who's in control and very much fascinated with the beauty of young women. It is very common for men to be fascinated with young women's bodies, but to be able to reveal the inner thoughts and struggles of a woman, as Yoshida does, shows a man of much compassion, depth and insight. His daring and unconventional doll creation of a young, bare-breasted, pregnant woman depicts her deep in thought perhaps pondering motherhood. Shown alone and barely a child herself, Yoshida has captured her in this moment of reverie. His work is so real you need to remind yourself that it's sculpted and not photographed. A more abstract doll creation is a young girl wrapped in twisted plastic; an ambiguous clock buried within. This piece shows Yoshida's insight into a young girl's complex nature and her expectation and excitement of an unknown future. It strongly depicts how young women are often trapped by uncontrollable emotions, feelings and bound by societal morays and customs. It reveals lives bound by deadlines and completion such as career, marriage, children and happiness - a continual race against age.

 

 

Ryoichi Yoshida was born in 1952 at Kawasaki city, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. In 1972 he graduated from Tokyo Collage of Photography. By 1973, Yoshida-san started creating Dolls on his own and two years later he was teaching Doll creation. His first exhibition "Shojo" was held in 1979, in Tokyo. Yoshida-san established doll-space "pygmalion" in Tokyo. He also hold doll making class and sells CD's of his photographs.

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