Yokoyama studied metalwork at Tokyo University of Arts, from which he graduated in 1962. His knowledge of glass was gained through his experience at the Joetsu Crystal Glass Company in Gunma Prefecture, for which he worked until 1975 before becoming an independent glass designer. The work he has produced since the early 1980s marks a radical departure from the minimalist mode in which he worked earlier in his career. His humorous style, which makes increasingly extravagant use of coloured glass, draws its ultimate inspiration from recent trends in Italian design.
Each component of the work shown here consists of separate pieces of glass which have been fused together as part of a coordinated process involving several glass techniques working in harmony. Yokoyama hires the staff and workshop facilities of his former employer, the Joestu Crystal Glass Company, for the actual making of his work. He acts as designer and producer, overseeing and orchestrating the making process without being directly involved himself. Yokoyama works in cycles, alternating between designing and working up full-sized colour drawings and concentrated bouts in the workshop.