Ikuko Iwamoto

Ikuko Iwamoto is a London-based Japanese artist who uses porcelain to create eccentric table-top pieces and sculpture. Her fundamental inspiration comes from intricate and fragile looking structures, and odd forms found in the microscopic world.

Ikuko began her education in ceramics in 1990 when she enrolled on the Crafts and History (Ceramic) course at Tezukayama College, Japan. After this, she became an assistant to her ceramics tutor, while also teaching ceramic design at other colleges. In 2001, on the recommendation of her tutor, she left Japan to study in London. She studied BA(Hons) Ceramics at Camberwell College of Art graduating in 2004 before completing her MA in Ceramics and Glass in 2006 at the Royal College of Art, London.

Her typical work involves using a slip-casting technique, the process includes using a plaster model and mould-making to create a hollow body. Spikes and piled-up dots are often obsessively attached to create tension, fragility and flow. Also, additional materials such as coiled telephone cables, metal wires, and hypodermic needles are frequently incorporated into her porcelain forms with her wall piece sculptures.

She is the winner of the 2019 Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramics Prize hosted by gallerist Cynthia Corbett. Notable exhibitions include Collect at Saatchi Gallery, RA summer show, and her work is in several public collections including the V&A and Manchester Art Gallery.