Masako Masukata was born in Toyama prefecture, Japan. She lives and works in Japan. She studied glass molding techniques at Tama Art University in Tokyo, where she developed her signature style of embedding glass into plaster. Masako creates minimalist works that draw attention to the light, shape, and texture of each medium. Consistently, her work offers the viewer an incomplete and abstract vision of the inner landscape of her mind, of the transience of life and nature, and of the uncertainties of modern society itself, while also serving as a multifaceted glimpse of how things look once liberated from our familiar system of values. After exhibiting around the world, including Germany and Korea, along with exhibits in New York, this will be Masako’s first exhibit in Texas. Artist Statement“I work with plaster and glass because it is important for me to express fragility and incompleteness of form in my work. It is evident that both in the natural world, and inhuman life, there is both fragility and strength. The media I work with are based on my experiences and visual education through learning glasswork techniques. Plaster and glass have a symbiotic relationship when casting in kilns. Although traditionally glass is used as a material for art, and plaster as a mold for casting, I realized the beauty in the fragility of plaster and the mystical strength of glass when I saw the combination of both materials placed in the kiln. I have also been adding other materials such as inks, including Japanese sumi ink, and wire. This is the result of my exploration of other materials in the pursuit of different effects, including the suggestion of shadow. For example, there are mixtures of plaster and ink, Japanese sumi ink, and rough or smooth surfaces in the plaster. By casting a shadow of steel wire on plaster, these materials can add a synergistic effect which cannot be accomplished with plaster and glass alone. I make both free-standing sculptures and wall sculptures which leave a raw impression through the original, monotone colors, and natural textures of the medium.”