Predictive Dream LVIII

Katsuyo Aoki’s intricate rococo skulls and extravagant wall ornaments are hand-sculpted in porcelain whose bone-white hue works to subdue the complex, bourgeoning forms. Porcelain, for its extreme level of difficulty and corresponding level of formal intensity, imbues this skull— an object whose image and material presence has a formidable hold on the human psyche— with an uncanny delicacy. The tradition of memento mori is extolled in Aoki’s work to splendid effect, as the marriage of the simultaneously sacred and profane nature of life and death shine brilliantly through the ornate masterpieces.