JIRO KAMATA: VOICES

Overview

Jiro Kamata, scion of a Japanese jeweller dynasty, deals in his works with the dimensions of optical experience and perception of values. He does not only turn away aesthetically from classical jewellery, but also confronts the mineral extraction associated with it with a practice of material conservation. Kamata’s works are generated with a view to an “experienced memory”; they gain their value only through experience and dealing with them. Kamata takes the entire production process into account, from production to the performance by the wearer with the piece of jewellery on his or her body.
Lenses, mirrors, and even adhesive tapes offer insights, outlooks, and perspectives, connect the wearers with their environment, and at the same time question the positions taken: How do we see the world and how does the world see us?

Jiro Kamata was born in 1978 to a family of jewelers in the ancient city of Hirosaki (JP). From 2000 he studied with Otto Künzli at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (DE). His work has been shown internationally and can be found in several public and private collections worldwide. Kamata lives and works in Munich.