The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

Moko Fukuyama

Since 2019, Fukuyama has created a body of large-scale sculptures that utilize salvaged tree matter as its primary material. Often allowing the wood's natural shape and grain pattern to inform the structural composition of the work, Fukuyama revives once-lost timber with new life. Her sculptures explore the psychology of human intervention and desire—interests stemming from Fukuyama's experience as a recreational sports fisher—and our roles in critical issues ranging from overconsumption and consumerism to sustainability and urbanization.

For her latest public art project, Fukuyama debuts a stylized fishing tackle box, a steel-framed structure that contains a menagerie of hand-carved, brightly painted objects that resemble fishing lures. The dazzling assortment of angler’s "bait" that dangle, sit, and lean within individualized compartments are meticulously crafted from a felled oak tree that once stood outside the artist's Brooklyn residence. Outlined but not enclosed, the sculpture’s open framework allows viewers to see the world beyond, placing humans in the position typically occupied by fish. This dual perspective not only plays with the rules of attraction but also fosters a dialogue between nature and its imitators.

This project is organized by Caitlin Monachino, Curatorial and Publications Manager.

Moko Fukuyama was born in 1981 in Chiba, Japan. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.