
Untitled
This intimate wooden sculpture by Tomonori Toyofuku presents a slab of richly grained timber, likely walnut or a comparably warm-toned hardwood, pierced throughout with a rhythmic arrangement of oval apertures. The openings are carved in shallow, concave relief, their smooth inner surfaces catching light in a way that creates a gentle dialogue between depth and surface. Arranged in loose horizontal rows across the face of the panel, the ovals radiate an almost biological regularity, interrupted at the center by the raw, unworked knots of the original wood, natural features that the artist has chosen to preserve rather than eliminate. The work is mounted on a polished aluminum stand, a clean industrial base that contrasts quietly with the organic warmth of the timber above it. Toyofuku, a Japanese sculptor who spent much of his career working in Italy, became known for his exploration of negative space within wood, treating the void not as absence but as a structural and expressive element equal in importance to the material itself. This piece exemplifies that sensibility. The oval forms, neither purely geometric nor entirely organic, carry associations that move between the cellular and the cosmic, evoking everything from biological membrane structures to the repeated motifs found in certain traditions of sacred architecture. The decision to work at an intimate scale, just 13 by 17 centimeters, concentrates the visual and tactile energy considerably, making the work feel dense and meditative in the hand and on the eye. For collectors, this sculpture represents an exceptional opportunity to acquire a work that operates on multiple registers simultaneously. It is formally rigorous yet materially sensuous, internationally significant yet rooted in a deeply personal engagement with material culture. Toyofuku's works are held in important public and private collections across Europe and Japan, and pieces of this scale and quality rarely appear outside institutional contexts. The inclusion of the natural knot formations at the center of the composition suggests that this particular work carries an additional autobiographical dimension, the artist allowing the life history of the wood itself to become part of the artistic statement. Displayed on a shelf, table, or vitrine, it rewards sustained attention and will enrich any collection attentive to the postwar intersection of Eastern philosophy and Western sculptural tradition.
- Medium
- Wooden sculpture
🔨 Auction Lot
Martini Studio d'Arte: Modern And Contemporary Art
June 10, 2026
Estimate: €3,000 to €5,000
Lot 218
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