Asako Shiroki: Water Mirror
Gallery 38 is pleased to present Water Mirror, a solo exhibition by Asako Shiroki, opening on Friday, June 13.
Currently based in Berlin, Germany, artist Asako Shiroki is known for her sculptures and installations incorporating natural objects as beings from alternative perceptual worlds, made with wood and other materials. Her works are recognized for their quiet presence and powerful, evocative messages. Originally trained in metalwork in Japan, Shiroki expanded her interest to wood and began her artistic practice integrating wooden sculptures into her installations. Over the years, through residencies and research in Germany, France, Denmark, Korea and other locations, she shifted from forming materials through control to embracing the abstraction and unpredictability inherent in organic matter.
One day, Shiroki encountered an impactful moment through some fallen tree twigs. While collecting branches she found along a familiar path, she noticed a bird鈥檚 nest above her. In that instant, the twigs she had picked for their aesthetic appeal and those selected by the bird for pragmatic nesting purposes intersected two worlds touching, coexisting in the same moment. This experience revealed to her the layered nature of existence and the possibility of momentarily sensing another鈥檚 time or world, even if they may never truly overlap.
Shiroki鈥檚 early work focused on forming specific materials, such as wood, but over time she began reflecting her own inner experiences and perceptions of daily life in her work. Especially after the pandemic, she became deeply aware of the importance of imagining perspectives that are difficult to grasp through subjective experienced those belonging to others. Her encounters with the bird nest and twigs became an opportunity to notice unfamiliar perspectives, turning the act of creation into a means of imagining the other. Natural elements representing different perceptual realms have increasingly appeared in her works, becoming metaphors for the effort to understand what lies beyond our own knowledge.
Her interest in the 鈥減erspective of the other鈥� is rooted in her own life experience, shaped through years of working abroad. As someone who has lived as an 鈥渋mmigrant,鈥� Shiroki explores how cultural and historical contexts shape identity, and how tension arises in relationships with others. In Northern Europe, she observed their unique attitudes of inner autonomy and a deep engagement with nature and time, reflecting on how these differed from her own East Asian sensibilities, and using this contrast to seek a balanced understanding of the world.
The exhibition will feature eight works, including a new piece titled Rooted in time, memories in bloom. Among them, Evergreen exemplifies her recent explorations. Described by the artist as 鈥渁 work that recalls memory and regenerates new meaning,鈥� it draws on both personal and historical contexts particularly Japan-Korea relations and the family memories of her Korean partner through a cultural-anthropological lens. Built around the theme of 鈥渄istillation,鈥� the work incorporates photographs, video, a flask containing 21 grams of essential oil, and metal chains. Influenced by her experience of temporary smell loss due to COVID-19 and past collaborations with the visually impaired, Shiroki became increasingly aware of the connection between scent and memory. Using distillation symbolically, she creates a sensory experience where scent acts on the viewer鈥檚 memory. For Shiroki, whose goal is to leave an invisible impression in the viewer鈥檚 heart, the process of extracting essential oils and that of sculpting share a deep conceptual affinity. Her works continue to evolve shifting materials and forms while exploring both personal introspection and broader narratives.
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Gallery 38 is pleased to present Water Mirror, a solo exhibition by Asako Shiroki, opening on Friday, June 13.
Currently based in Berlin, Germany, artist Asako Shiroki is known for her sculptures and installations incorporating natural objects as beings from alternative perceptual worlds, made with wood and other materials. Her works are recognized for their quiet presence and powerful, evocative messages. Originally trained in metalwork in Japan, Shiroki expanded her interest to wood and began her artistic practice integrating wooden sculptures into her installations. Over the years, through residencies and research in Germany, France, Denmark, Korea and other locations, she shifted from forming materials through control to embracing the abstraction and unpredictability inherent in organic matter.
One day, Shiroki encountered an impactful moment through some fallen tree twigs. While collecting branches she found along a familiar path, she noticed a bird鈥檚 nest above her. In that instant, the twigs she had picked for their aesthetic appeal and those selected by the bird for pragmatic nesting purposes intersected two worlds touching, coexisting in the same moment. This experience revealed to her the layered nature of existence and the possibility of momentarily sensing another鈥檚 time or world, even if they may never truly overlap.
Shiroki鈥檚 early work focused on forming specific materials, such as wood, but over time she began reflecting her own inner experiences and perceptions of daily life in her work. Especially after the pandemic, she became deeply aware of the importance of imagining perspectives that are difficult to grasp through subjective experienced those belonging to others. Her encounters with the bird nest and twigs became an opportunity to notice unfamiliar perspectives, turning the act of creation into a means of imagining the other. Natural elements representing different perceptual realms have increasingly appeared in her works, becoming metaphors for the effort to understand what lies beyond our own knowledge.
Her interest in the 鈥減erspective of the other鈥� is rooted in her own life experience, shaped through years of working abroad. As someone who has lived as an 鈥渋mmigrant,鈥� Shiroki explores how cultural and historical contexts shape identity, and how tension arises in relationships with others. In Northern Europe, she observed their unique attitudes of inner autonomy and a deep engagement with nature and time, reflecting on how these differed from her own East Asian sensibilities, and using this contrast to seek a balanced understanding of the world.
The exhibition will feature eight works, including a new piece titled Rooted in time, memories in bloom. Among them, Evergreen exemplifies her recent explorations. Described by the artist as 鈥渁 work that recalls memory and regenerates new meaning,鈥� it draws on both personal and historical contexts particularly Japan-Korea relations and the family memories of her Korean partner through a cultural-anthropological lens. Built around the theme of 鈥渄istillation,鈥� the work incorporates photographs, video, a flask containing 21 grams of essential oil, and metal chains. Influenced by her experience of temporary smell loss due to COVID-19 and past collaborations with the visually impaired, Shiroki became increasingly aware of the connection between scent and memory. Using distillation symbolically, she creates a sensory experience where scent acts on the viewer鈥檚 memory. For Shiroki, whose goal is to leave an invisible impression in the viewer鈥檚 heart, the process of extracting essential oils and that of sculpting share a deep conceptual affinity. Her works continue to evolve shifting materials and forms while exploring both personal introspection and broader narratives.
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