Bead embroidery artist, maki
instagram: @maki_embroidery
Maki lives in Tokyo.
After leaving her position at a record-label company, she attended a workshop organized by the “artist in Gallery” at “Embroidery CAFE”. She was attracted by the ability to create out of the box artworks, and the importance of intuitions and inspirations that emanate from each material and color, and decided to properly start her embroidery career.
After learning that the origins of the Lunéville embroidery was from a town called Lunéville in 1800s France, and being captivated by the artworks produced by embroidery ateliers in the fashion industry, maki joined the embroidery atelier, “Lemmikko” in Tokyo.
She learned the “Crochet de Lunéville (Crochet hook)” technique, where a special thin needle is used to embroider the beads and sequins on the backside of the fabric.
She learned to enjoy the process of producing glitz and glamor by following patterns to decorate with beads and sequins, and found delight in freely combining and creating one piece with the various materials, colors, and shapes. The thickness of the string, the strength of the stitchings, and a small 1mm difference in the position of the needle, changes the balance of the whole piece. The delicate process tested and strengthened her attention span and mental powers.
Her artworks are based on the theme of women. She colorfully expresses the female attractiveness, mysteriousness, cuteness, flirtatiousness, elegance, strength, and inner thoughts with beads, sequins, fabric, lace, feathers, paper, and other stitchable objects through the Lunéville embroidery and needle embroidery method in a small picture frame. She incorporates out-of-the-ordinary concepts, dreams, and fashion into her embroidery art.
She held her first solo exhibition at a cafe in 2015 and later opened an online store. From 2015 to 2018, she exhibited at several galleries and in 2016 and 2017, she exhibited at a group exhibition in the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater Atelier East Gallery. In 2019, she exhibited at a Ginza gallery organized art exhibition at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the art fair, “Salon Art Shopping” in Paris.
She won the prize at the 18th Belladonna Art public exhibition in 2022.
< Career >
⚫︎2015〜2018 First Solo Exhibition at Cafe Cure (Chigasaki), Christmas Exhibition at SZK Gallery (Chigasaki), "kayanobi" Art Exhibition at SZK Gallery (Chigasaki), Angels/Mermaids Exhibition at SZK Gallery (Chigasaki), Group Exhibition "Gallery Operation 39", Gallery Operation 10 "Lost in a Fog" (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Atelier East)
⚫︎2019 The 16th National Art Open Call Exhibition "Belladonna Art Exhibition" (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum), Petit Belladonna Exhibition in Tokyo Ginza (Amore Ginza Gallery), Art Fair "Salon Art Shopping Paris" (Carrousel du Louvre Paris)
⚫︎2021 The 17th National Art Open Call Exhibition "Belladonna Art Exhibition" (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum), Open Call Exhibition "Flowers and People 5" (The Artcomplex Center of Tokyo, Yotsuya), JCAT Online Exhibition "SUMMER", Frills and Hats Exhibition (Gallery IYN, Osaka), IYN Art Festival at Kobe Hankyu
⚫︎2022 IYN Art Festival at Kobe Hankyu: Corsage and Brooch Sale, 219 Open Call Exhibition Vol.3 (Gallery219, Tokyo Omotesando), Garden of Happiness Vol.2 at Kobe Hankyu, Gather! Animal Illustration Exhibition (Matsuzakaya Takatsuki Store), The 18th National Art Open Call Exhibition "Belladonna Art Exhibition" (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum), Intersection of Art Exhibition (Gallery219, Tokyo Omotesando), Made in Japan Exhibition (Noho M55 Gallery in New York)
⚫︎2023 Exhibition and Sale at FUDGE Gallery & Cafe (Shinagawa), The 19th National Art Open Call Exhibition "Belladonna Art Exhibition" (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum), Open Call Exhibition "Bouquet 3" (The Artcomplex Center of Tokyo), Toshima-ku General Art Exhibition "Everyone's Gallery" (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Atelier East)
⚫︎2024 Gallery Binoya Open Call Exhibition "Cats and Birds", The 20th National Art Open Call Exhibition "Belladonna Art Exhibition" (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum)
