When I stand in front of a stone, the stone speaks to me
The voice of stone always has one word:
The stones don't tell us much
Her voice was so loud that it was drowned out by the sound of the wind and the chirping of insects.
A small voice is trying to tell you something powerfully

Taking on a human form
Becoming a person with wings
Becoming a musician
Becoming a house and becoming a round stone

Perhaps she was able to capture herself through the stones and achieve a brilliant expression.

Atsuya Tominaga

In 1996, around the time that Ippodo opened its gallery in a corner of the New Takanawa Prince Hotel, I came across the sculptures of Atsuya Tominaga.

It feels like we have been walking together for 28 years since I was shocked by his stone carvings. During that time, we had an exhibition in the garden of Takanawa Prince Hotel, studied abroad in Pietrasanta, the home of Italian sculpture, and shared our ideas with artists from around the world. At that time, Atsuya Tominaga was carving only "Ninguen". He exhibited "Ninguen" at Ippodo in NY, and it caught the eye of the famous collector Jack Lenor Larsen, who placed it in the garden of his longhouse.
Next came the Sphere, a round stone sculpture, and then the heart-shaped piece won the grand prize at the 25th UBE Biennale, one of the world's most traditional outdoor sculpture exhibitions. The Love Stone Project began.
He carried out the Love Stone project, in which he polished heart-shaped stones with people from all over the world, and this became Tominaga's new name as a sculptor.
His creative drive is as pure as a boy's and is constantly evolving, surprising me and his fans.
The path we have walked with Atsuya Tominaga is also the history of Ippodo, and we are deeply moved to be able to publish a collection of his works, "Stone - Atsuya Tominaga," at the same time as this solo exhibition, which can be seen as a new beginning for him. So, what will he carve next?

Keiko Aono, Ippodo