Akio Makigawa

Akio Makigawa was born in Karatsu City, Japan, in 1948. He completed a Bachelor of Arts from Nihon University, Tokyo, a Bachelor of Arts/Fine Art at Curtin University, Perth, and a Graduate Diploma (in sculpture) at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.

Makigawa’s sculpture utilises natural materials such as stone, wood and water, in works that balance the ideas of concrete presence and spiritual levity. Large-scale commissions by Makigawa now appear in the international departure lounge at Melbourne Airport and the Melbourne Town Hall Plaza.

Makigawa was born into Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, where nature is worshipped and the spirit in all things is acknowledged. Although he never practised Zen Buddism he often referenced the five elements – earth, air, fire and water – as well as the spirit. These fundamental elements are often reinterpreted into signature organic forms such as mountains, clouds, flames, buds, markers, beacons, boats, and houses, to invite consideration into how we perceive these elements and their interrelation in space. Makigawa died in 1999.