余淑 (余樹) 4

After completing his graduate studies at the Osaka University of Arts, he was based in Germany (Berlin and Brandenburg) for approximately six and a half years. Currently based in Japan, his practice centers on woodcarving using the ichiboku-zukuri (single-block carving) technique, carving structures from solid woods such as camphor and zelkova. He advocates his original art theory, \"Grid Animism,\" pursuing an expression that synthesizes modern rationalism (the grid) with the human view of nature (animism) within a single block of wood. Finished with traditional materials such as gofun (shell white), sumi ink, and nikawa (animal glue), his sculptures function as vessels that transform space into a tranquil kekkai (sacred boundary).In addition to numerous exhibitions at galleries and museums both domestically and internationally, he has undertaken commission works for public spaces and private residences, including Schlosspark Wagenitz in Germany (2015), a private residence in Dallas, Texas, USA (2020), and KYOTOWAND in Kyoto, Japan (2022). In 2026, he created a 2.5-meter-tall large-scale work carved from a single block of camphor wood during an artist-in-residence program in Iizuka City, Fukuoka. Furthermore, with an academic paper submitted to the Journal for Artistic Research (JAR) (currently under peer review), he continues to expand the possibilities of sculpture through both rigorous theory and physical practice.