Initially trained as an architect at Tokyo University of Science, Kojiro Yoshiaki made a career change in his early 30s to become a glass artist, embarking on an active programme of solo, duo and group exhibitions from 2001 onwards. He won three different Japanese awards in 2004, 2006 and 2008, and then, in 2012, two international awards in Belgium and Germany respectively. ‘Culmination’ is a prime example of the artist’s experimental, almost scientific approach to glass working which in the case of this work involved combining two methods of making glass - one for the opaque, slumped glass of the exterior and the other for the foam glass, reminiscent of cotton wool or fibreglass, that fills the interior.

To be revised: The success of the finished product owes much to the way in which it was rapidly cooled after its removal from the kiln rather than having been placed in an annealing oven in the more usual way. This has resulted in the fissuring of the opaque glass skin to reveal the frothy-looking foam glass within. While careful calculation is an all important aspect of the artist’s making process, chance also has a major role in determining the final appearance of his works.