The 77th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Aesthetics: Young Scholars Forum
Presentation on the early works and production of hammered metal sculptor Masayuki Hashimoto. Title: "Self-Understanding Formed by Metal hammering: The Circular Structure of Masayuki Hashimoto’s 'Apple Experience' and 'Craftical Formation' Action" Please check the abstract from the link below:
https://www.bigakukai.jp/conference077/
《 Date 》Saturday, October 10, 2026
《 Admission 》 Required (In-person only)
《 Venue 》 Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya Uegahara Campus 1-155 Uegahara Ichiban-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 662-8501
Creation and Dedications of the Sacred Horse Statue 'Yae' at Hiratsuka Hachimangu Shrine
I had the honor of creating a statue of Yae, the sacred horse born at Hiratsuka Hachimangu Shrine on April 14, 2026. Following the dedication ceremony on July 25, the statue is now on public display within the shrine grounds.
《 Address 》 Hiratsuka Hachimangu Shrine 1-6 Sengen-cho, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa 254-0041, Japan
Kie Imai Solo Exhibition "Carving Traces, Creating Films" - Metal Hammering Reconstructs Relationships with Traumatic Memories
I transfer my identical twin sister's autobiographical novel and photographs layering portraits of her and myself onto metal plates, then hammer and strike them with a metal hammer. These actions evoke past memories accompanied by physical pain. I often recall traumatic memories from my childhood.
These past memories resonate with the metal material and each strike of the hammer, gradually shaping the work. By the time the piece is complete, the memory has transformed into something somewhat positive. I feel I can affirm myself. Whether hammering, cutting, filing, or welding metal, there are dangers, big and small. Even though I think “it's scary,” I cannot stop creating. Making art and my very existence are inseparable.
Through my identical twin sister—a being so similar yet distinct—the relationship between metalwork and my identity and self-formation has become starkly apparent. How did she survive? How did I survive?
This exhibition presents an installation featuring three-dimensional metalwork sculptures created by forging metal plates with photographic transfers, alongside video works.
《 Events during the Exhibition 》
◉ Opening Day Talk Event [ Fri, Feb 20, 19:00 – 20:00 ] Speakers: Tadas Fujii (Professor, Tokyo Zokei University) × Kie Imai
◯ Opening Act [ Shakuhachi performance by Hiroshi Tsugami ]
《 Dates 》 Friday, February 20 – Sunday, March 1, 2026 12:30 – 18:30 Closed: Monday, February 23
《 Admission 》 Free
《 Venue 》 Gallery Sora-no-Ma (Hakuya-cho Bldg. 5F) 3-6-9 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0027
《 Organized by 》 Kie Imai
《 Co-organized by 》 Gallery Sora-no-Ma
《 Grants / Support 》 Tokyo University of the Arts "I LOVE YOU" Project "Promoting Diversity and Inclusion" (Supported by Goldman Sachs Gives)
Special Exhibition: "Art Future Research Lab Exhibition"
For details, please visit the website: https://geidai-park-exh.geidai.ac.jp
《 Dates 》 Friday, November 21, 2025 – Sunday, November 30, 2025 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Last admission at 4:30 PM) Open every day during the exhibition period
《 Venue 》 The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts (Main Building, 3F)
《 Admission 》 Free
Kie Imai Solo Exhibition "Silence's Witness"
In this exhibition, exploring the themes of psychological trauma and family memory, I will present three-dimensional works made from photo-transferred, hammered metal plates, alongside video works. I transfer photographs featuring my identical twin sister onto metal plates. As I contemplate the distance between her pain and my own, I strike and hammer them with a mallet. Into what forms will this somewhat violent act of creation and the memories of pain it evokes be sublimated? This is a collection of experimental works utilizing a new approach.
《 Events during the Exhibition 》
❶ Opening Event [ 2.7 (Fri) 19:00 – 20:00 ] Shakuhachi performance by Hiromichi Tsugami (Kinko-ryu Shakuhachi)
❷ Gallery Tour & Talk [ 2.14 (Fri) 18:00 – 19:00 ] Koichiro Noji (Director, Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum Tokyo) × Kie Imai
《 Dates 》 Friday, February 7 – Friday, February 21, 2025 12:00 – 19:00 Closed: 9, 16 (Sun)
《 Admission 》 Free
《 Venue 》 Gallery Sora-no-Ma (Hakuya-cho Bldg. 5F) 3-6-9 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0027
Recipients of the "FY2024 JX Advanced Metals Award"
I have been awarded the "FY2024 JX Advanced Metals Award" by JX Advanced Metals Corporation, along with a certificate and a scholarship
grant. https://www.jx-nmm.com/information/2024/20241118_1.html
Additionally, my work has been featured in the "METAL HAMMERING 2025 Calendar." https://www.jx-nmm.com/hammering/author/2025/kie_imai/
Special Exhibition: "ART SHOW GINZA ONBEAT×MITSUKOSHI"
For details, please visit the official website: https://www.mistore.jp/shopping/event/ginza_e/artshow_51
《 Dates 》 Wednesday, November 1 – Monday, November 6, 2023
《 Admission 》 Free
《 Venue 》 Ginza Mitsukoshi (New Building, 7F) 4-6-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8212
Traveling Exhibition: "ONBEAT Art Show"
◯ Toyama Daiwa: Saturday, December 16 – Wednesday, December 20, 2023 ◯ Hiroshima Mitsukoshi: Wednesday, February 14 – Monday, February 20, 2024 ◯ Korinbo Daiwa: Friday, March 1 – Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Featured in Bilingual Art Magazine ONBEAT vol.19
My works are featured and introduced in ONBEAT vol.19, a bilingual art magazine published in Japanese and English. Copies can be purchased at bookstores or through the link below:
Group Exhibition: "Tsuchi-on" (Sound of the Hammer)
The sound produced when striking metal with a hammer is called tsuchi-on. This exhibition presents three artists who explore sculptural creation through metal hammering (tankin)—a technique of shaping and joining metal by hammering. Working with metal, a material that has coexisted with humanity since ancient times, all three artists share the common theme of "a sense of life" (seimeikan).
Kie Imai finds a sense of "life and death" both in the process of metal hammering and within the hollow interiors of the resulting forms, creating unique living creatures by combining motifs that evoke similar sensations.
Tong Haolin models "skeletons," which exist behind life as structural pillars of the body. Guided by a dialogue with the material, Tong aims to depict "another form of vitality existing on the reverse side of life."
Yu Jiaping specializes in expressions using metal hammering and chasing (uchidashi) techniques. Yu explores the way living things gradually transform state, examining it through the lens of "the extension of life."
Nakamachi-no-ie is a beautiful space that people have preserved and handed down with care since ancient times—a venue imbued with the wish to merge past and future into a space for creative evolution. We hope you will feel the resonance between Nakamachi-no-ie and the "sense of life" echoed through the tsuchi-on created by these three artists.
For details, please visit the website: https://aaa-senju.com/p/16008
《 Dates 》 Saturday, November 11 – Monday, November 27, 2023 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM ◯ Closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
《 Admission 》 Free
《 Venue 》 Nakamachi-no-ie 29-1 Senju Nakamachi, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 120-0036
Special Exhibition: "-zen- TOKYO GEIDAI JAPAN ART WEEK"
For details, please visit the official website: https://www.thebricks.nyc/
《 Dates 》 Friday, September 8 – Saturday, September 16, 2023 12:00 PM – 7:30 PM
《 Admission 》 Free
《 Venue 》 Blue Gallery in New York 222 E 46th Street, NYC
Special Exhibition: "Geidai Myths – GEISHIN –"
For details, please visit the official website: https://artplaza.geidai.ac.jp/column/18762/
《 Dates 》 Saturday, July 1 – Sunday, July 23, 2023 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM ◯ Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
《 Admission 》 Free
《 Venue 》 Geidai Art Plaza 12-8 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8714 (Tokyo University of the Arts, Ueno Campus)
Group Exhibition: "Metal Works Exhibition – Research Results Exhibition of the Metalsmithing Studio, Tokyo University of the Arts –"
《 Dates 》 Monday, June 19 – Friday, July 7, 2023 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM ◯ Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and National Holidays
《 Admission 》 Free
《 Venue 》 Tennozu Central Tower 1F Art Hall Tennozu Central Tower 1F, 2-2-24 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0002
《 In Cooperation with 》 Nakagawa Special Steel Inc.
Kie Imai Solo Exhibition: "Errors of Excretion"
This solo exhibition is presented as part of the project "Tankin × Hogaku #On the Former Denchu Hirakushi House." Titled as a collaboration between art and traditional Japanese music, this project is created alongside my Tokyo University of the Arts classmate, Kinko-ryu shakuhachi player Koudou Tsugami.
Under the concept of "A Place of Encounter," various programs are scheduled at the residence and studio where sculptor Denchu Hirakushi devoted himself to sculpture throughout the Taisho and Showa eras.
For details, please visit the official website: https://www.yanakahouse.com/denchu2022
《 Dates 》 Thursday, November 3 (National Holiday) – Sunday, November 6, 2022 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (First day only: 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM)
《 Admission 》 Exhibition view: 500 yen
《 Venue 》 Former Denchu Hirakushi Atelier 2-20-3 Ueno Sakuragi, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0002
《 Grant / Support 》 FY2022 Taito City Arts and Culture Support Grant
《 Cooperation 》 Ibara City (Okayama Prefecture), Former Denchu Hirakushi House in Ueno Sakuragi, NPO Taito Cultural & Historical Heritage Society, General Incorporated Association Yanaka no Okatte
Kie Imai Mini Solo Exhibition: "Vomiting, Life"
This mini solo exhibition is held in preparation for the project "Tankin × Hogaku #On the Former Denchu Hirakushi House." The works will be on display on the second floor of a wine bar. Please enjoy viewing them at your leisure inside the venue.
《 Dates 》 Saturday, October 15 – Sunday, October 23, 2022 Weekdays: 3:00 PM – 9:00 PM Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays: 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM
《 Reception 》 Sunday, October 16, 2022, starting at 2:00 PM Featuring a shakuhachi performance by Koudou Tsugami.
《 Venue 》 ICHIGOYA Yanaka Ginza Store 3-11-12 Yanaka, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0001
Kie Imai Solo Exhibition: "Purification of Swallowing"
《 Dates 》 Monday, February 15 – Wednesday, February 24, 2021 Weekdays: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Closes at 5:00 PM on the final day)
《 Venue 》 Galerie Ishikawa 7-7-8 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061
Kie Imai Solo Exhibition: "Errors of Flower Play"
《 Dates 》 Sunday, June 21 – Saturday, July 4, 2020
◯ Closed on Mondays (June 22, June 29) 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM ◯ Closes at 5:00 PM on the final day
《 Venue 》 galerieH Tokai Nihonbashi Heights 2F, 7-13 Nihonbashi Kobunacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0024
The 68th Tokyo University of the Arts Graduation and Completion Works Exhibition
《 Dates 》 Tuesday, January 28 – Sunday, February 2, 2020 Open every day during the exhibition period 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM (Last admission at 5:00 PM)
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Final day: 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM (Last admission at 12:00 PM)
《 Venue 》 Tokyo University of the Arts (Masaki Memorial Hall, 2F)
《 Admission 》 Free
《 Organizer 》 Tokyo University of the Arts
Kie Imai Official Website Launched
Featuring works and projects by metalwork sculptor Kie Imai.