Yoshie Sugito is a visual artist who works with painting on a variety of media as well as sculpture using materials such as ceramics and textiles. In her work, she deals intensively with objects, drawings and narrative elements. Her works are inspired by oral literature, mythology and cultural rituals. Sugito explores how the transfer of these stories and practices into contemporary contexts opens up new possibilities for interpretation.
She studied painting at Musashino Art University Tokyo and sculpture at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig. Sugito received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan Overseas Scholarship for a residency in New York (2021-2023) and participated in the NARS Foundation Artist Residency Program (2021). Her work has been exhibited internationally, including: “tell me about the tree cake“(2024, Matilde Hatzenberger Gallery, Brussels), ‘PÀO, PEACH, SPIRIT HORSES’ (2023, Young Knee Cool, New York), ‘Hibernationstation’ (2021, Klosterruine, Berlin), ‘Routs/Rootes’(2021, Tokas Hongo, Tokyo). She currently lives and works in Berlin.
“Wool from the farm – The materials were gifted to me here in Schöppingen. During the first months, I worked intensively with the wool: sorting, cutting, washing, and carding it repeated again and again. In between, I painted, worked with ceramics, collected acorns, and experimented with fermentation, but I always returned to the idea of incorporating sheep wool into my work. Through the hands-on process, I discovered the unique qualities of wool: its texture, the stories and history it holds, the sense of warmth and loneliness it conveys. It seemed to embody between the animalistic and the botanical. This experience inspired me to explore new ways of fully realizing the potential of wool in my creative practice and to weave new stories.”