Mariyo Yagi

Recipient of main awards, Japanese artist Mariyo Yagi is renowned for her spiral sculptures, the result of a personal theoretical research on the word “Nawa” (rope in Japanese, which metaphorically connects Humanity).

The artist Mariyo Yagi (1948-2024) was born in Kobe, Japan. She graduated in Fine Arts at the Kyoto City University of Art. From 1973 to 1976 she worked for sculptor and architect Isamu Noguchi. In 1973 at Venice Biennale she met Carlo Scarpa who introduced her to Dino Gavina. From 1995 to 1998 she was professor at Kobe Women’s University.

Recipient of main awards, including in 1995 Urban Art Award, Maubege (France) and Urban Design Award, Toyonaka City (Japan); in 1999 Honorary Doctorate of Humanities (Anaheim University, USA) and in 2003 the 21st Kyoto Prefecture Culture Merits Prize (Japan).

Her best-known artworks, the result of a personal theoretical research on the word “Nawa” (rope in Japanese, which metaphorically connects Humanity), are spiral sculptures in diverse materials and dimensions, even monumental, that can be found in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Her approach to art is versatile and her research is always evolving, open to new ideas, changes and possibilities. With her environmental projects, monumental earthworks and public performances Mariyo Yagi transforms communities and the built environment through her unconventional interactive art practice.