Tender Interactions Emerge from Wood in Fumiya Watanabe’s Delicate Sculptures

a wooden sculpture of a slender figure with a star-like shape emerging from their shoulder

Photos by Sayumi. All images © Fumiya Watanabe, shared with permission

“My work is like a diary, like a poem,” says Fumiya Watanabe, who translates daily experiences and emotions into poignant wooden sculptures. Based in Gifu, Japan, the artist studied wood carving during university, then later with a master Inami artisan. Honing a technical understanding of the medium prompted Watanabe to immortalize things he saw and experienced into delicate artworks.

The artist spends time doodling in his free time, cataloguing things he has seen. “My feelings appear in various forms,” he tells Colossal. “Events in my daily life, things from the past, people around me, and the dogs and cats I live with also come to me…. I am not trying to convey some big message in my works. I just give form to what I feel. I want the viewer to freely interpret and enjoy them.”

Watanabe’s work will be on view in a solo exhibition in Tokyo at msb gallery from June 13 to 23. Find more on the artist’s website, and follow updates on Instagram.

a wooden sculpture of a small figure on the back of a long-horned cow

a wooden sculpture of a small figure riding on top of a large horned sheep

a wooden sculpture of a figure wearing a colorful dotted dress, with hair that appears to be blowing in the wind

a wooden sculpture of a cartoonish cat, hissing and raising its front paws

a wooden sculpture of a slender figure with arms outstretched with balloons tied to them

a wooden sculpture of a slender kneeling figure looking at a delicate flower

a wooden sculpture of a bear-like creature sitting on another piece of unworked timber

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