With Masters in mixed-media textiles and sculptures respectively, Tsai and Yoshikawa's different creative histories richly combine in their joint practice to create an alchemy of colour and eccentric forms. Individually their practices draw many parallels; both artists are experts in the bold use of colour, pattern, form and structure. They create and hand make unique light sculptures and installations, which are futuristic, dynamic, and have intricate detail.
Tsai & Yoshikawa have created vibrant and fantastic light sculptures that are suspended from the ceiling. With exotic flora as a primary influence, these artists use neoprene foam, perspex and an in-built light source to create hybrid 'Pop blooms’ and ‘Stars’ which allude to the cosmological and the botanical in a truly inventive and fantastical way. As the sculptures are lit from within, the colours and textures of the material radiate with vitality, and cast a tangle of shadows that bring these works to life.
Pop Blooms and Stars Series represents a moment of a surprise discovering of a magical unexpected surreal flower in a dessert or a cracked concrete kerb in mundane everyday life. 'Pop blooms’ and ‘Stars’ suspended light sculptures reveal the idea of the big bang – the moment when life begins and some sort of alchemy is at work.
The works are available to view, purchase and commission. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
Light Arrangement - Blooming Propeller draw inspirations from underwater animals that glow in the dark. Tsai & Yoshikawa are intrigued by the intense glowing vivid creatures that swim in the water during their visits to the aquarium. They are surprised by their intense and powerful visual appearance. Works are created with mixed media to formulate the abstract form of sea creatures. It is the beginning of Light Arrangement series. As this series develops, the artists create Light Arrangement - Aquatic Flora that hangs on the ceiling.
For Light Arrangement No.1 and Light Arrangement No.2, Tsai & Yoshikawa draw inspiration from the flamboyant giant vase that was once a living room ornament in ancient China. They use a magnifier to recreate the shape of an ancient vase and top it off with some abstract plant-like elements to create colourful three-dimensional flowers in abstract shapes, resulting in an object of elegance and exuberance.
The magnifier highlights the different colours and patterns at the inner core of the vase. Changes of light and shadows resulted from refractions and crowd movement has enlivened the immovable piece of artwork to create mercurial patterns and lively imagination. At night, the magnifier reflects the light onto its surroundings creating an impressive visual impact.
The works are available to view, purchase and commission. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
Tsai & Yoshikawa have three versions of their unique hand-made sculptural chandelier that resemble a bouquet of alien botany. Each of them is made in an edition of 9 + 3AP.
Blooming Spark I and Blooming Spark- Viola each consists of 4x crown silver mirror reflective LED lightbulbs and 9x UV lamps and fluorescent Perspex. It is wired with two individual circuits that offer a special glow in the dark, resulting in a mesmerizing visual experience.
Blooming Spark- Cosmos consists of 13 dimmable crown silver mirror reflective LED lightbulbs and iridescent Perspex that gives an array of rainbow-like reflections.
Blooming Spark I, Blooming Spark- Viola & Blooming Spark- Cosmos Perspex, aluminium, lightbulbs 55 x 100 x 100 cm
Blooming Sparks chandeliers are available to view and purchase on made to order basis. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
‘Sun’ is a new series of sculptural wall installations which celebrates the energy driving all life on earth.
Tsai and Yoshikawa have long been fascinated by the dynamic interactions between micro and macro scales in art and nature. This interplay is reflected in these new sculptures which are constructed from the complex interweaving of intricately-shaped forms within a circular boundary of significant diameter.
The repeated use of the spiral form is a consistent feature across the ‘Sun’ series. It is a structure that is omnipresent in nature, from distant spiral galaxies to minute patterns in plant tendrils. The incorporation of spiral elements into the ‘Sun’ series thus reflects the presence of these elements at micro and macro levels throughout the physical world, unifying the natural and artistic.
The sculptures are hand-crafted in the artists’ London studio, transforming highly-detailed metal components into a soft, organic form. The pieces create a striking visual impact at a distance yet bring a sense of relaxation and harmony for the viewer when observed in close-up. Each work is unique, and identified through an individual numbering system and hand-engraved signature.
Sun – Golden 108 No 1
In the first work in this series, golden spirals and other forms are woven through a 108cm diameter circle. The distance between the Sun and the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun. The number is therefore considered sacred in many cultures and religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Mathematicians also attribute it special significance: Fibonacci (c 1170 – c 1240) believed it represented the wholeness of existence. The sculpture therefore seeks to unify the macro and the micro, reflecting their complex interplay within science and nature.
EDITION ENQUIRIES: ‘Sun’ wall installations are available to commission in different colours and dimensions. For a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
Gladiolus Sparks series, which draws its inspiration from 'Ting Liao', a poem by Fu Xuan (Jin Dynasty), the first line of which reads 'The branches of the lanterns are like fiery trees, and the courtyard is lit up by the light of the sky.'
The earlier works in the series incorporated fluorescent tones to resemble fireworks. These later more monochrome pieces were formulated while we were living in Taiwan during the coronavirus pandemic and represent the changing environment: it was mid-Winter and the pace of life had slowed. Yet the lights within the sculptures reflect and refract their subtle iridescent colours into a gentle rainbow spectrum - we wanted to show how art can project warmth and hope.
Gladiolus Spark 2018 Stainless steel, marine-grade aluminium, Neoprene 300 x 180 x 130 cm
Gladiolus Spark - Deep Snow 2021 Stainless steel, marine-grade aluminium, Perspex, LED light bulbs 320 x 180 x 180 cm
‘Gladiolus Spark’ is available to commission in different colours and dimensions. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
‘Stella’ is limited-edition series of mixed media light sculptures constructed from five abstract, triangular sculptural elements which radiate outwards to form a star. The lights within the sculpture reflect and refract colours onto the metallic surface and the surrounding environment, to create a cosmos-like starburst.
‘Stella I’, the first work in the series, incorporates 6 dimmable, mirror-reflective LED lightbulbs within its iridescent Perspex structure which project an array of subtle rainbow-like reflections.
Stella I 2021 Stainless steel, Perspex, LED light bulbs 100 x 100 x 45 cm Limited edition of 12 + 3 A.P
‘Stella I’ is available to view and purchase on made to order basis. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
The Shape of Air series is the only series that features monochrome. They are all silver pieces and hand-made. Each work can expand and grow in scale to adapt the space. With the metallic colour and the change of light, lines, curves and forms become obvious.
By turning the materials from two dimensional to three dimensional, Tsai & Yoshikawa want to highlight the shape of each silver piece in the air and investigate the space that contains within the work - void and form.
The works are available to view, purchase and commission. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
Balloons series showcases installations that are made of colourful balloons. They are ordinary balloons that are constructed of several layers. After stretching balloons, it has a blown-glass touch. Balloons are filled only with air, water and sand to hold them together. This complex layering technique was invented by Yoshikawa in 2000 and the practice of manipulating daily-life objects and materials is still seen in Tsai & Yoshikawa’s recent art installations.
The works are available to purchase and commission. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
Between and Beyond is an infinity mirror art that explains Tsai & Yoshikawa’s artistic collaboration throughout the years. They individually draw on each side of the mirrors by themselves with their individual use of colours, expressions and techniques to create two artworks at once. When two artworks face each other, there is a collaboration happening in the space.
The layers of colours on each side overlap to create infinity space. Chemistry happens in the middle of the work process. During the making process, each mirror clashes with each other and at the end, it has created a harmonious piece of work where their collaboration that finally merges into one.
Infinity Mirror Art is available to commission. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
Kimiya Yoshikawa was born and grew up with art in the family. His parents specialise in ceramic art. He has created many expressive drawings under his parent’s influence and he develops this series of work on porcelain plates.
Drawings on porcelain plates become more durable compared to drawings on paper, canvas and board. Without framing, the works require minimum maintenance. Also, porcelain can be engraved and covered with layers of glaze, adding a rich texture to the work. Yoshikawa plays with the matte and glossy effect of the glaze and the coarse and smooth texture of the porcelain, making the works easily adapt to architectural surroundings and interior space.
The works are available to view, purchase and commission. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
Wall Chandelier is a series of experimental photography. Hsiao-Chi Tsai uses mirrors and three-dimensional hand-made objects and projection to reflect and diffuse the light together, creating illusional landscape-like images which contribute to the visual concept of the large-scale immersive installations.
Drop of Light is a site-specific light installation that Tsai creates with sculptural chandelier and a video projection of her colourful drawings.
Corner Explosion is a site-specific installation that Tsai tiles the corner space of the ceiling with mirrors, multiplying her textile pieces into infinity and creating firework-like sphere visual impact, powerful yet intricate.
The Pond is a work that experiments and manipulates the characteristic of corrugated plastic to play with the inner and outer space. It is intrigued by MC Escher’s artistic illusion and positive and negative spaces. The characteristics of elements change within positive and negative space. Tsai & Yoshikawa turn this industrial material to a transparent reflective sculpture, creating the reflection and shadow with the use of light and water. It is a piece of their early work that experiments the relationship between materials, reflection and light.
The mirror surface is explored as an object that reveals the identity of the holder, whilst masking their image from other viewers. Holes cut out reveal fragments of the face through the surface on which they are expected to appear. The sometimes-humorous transformation is temporary and exists only for the period of participation.
Hand Mirrors are available to view and purchase. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
Kimiya Yoshikawa’s painting is marked by an intuitional attitude toward prevailing notions of freedom of expression. They are abstract but figurative at the same time.
Natural stokes, colour combination and the speed of mark-making reveal his state of mind when creating the work. He places the entry point to himself and tries to mimic the figure and the structure in his mind. He often starts with using black and white charcoal that is usually used in many life drawings. He then adds layers of colour abstractly, repeatedly destroying and building upon what was there. He perceives these paintings as the foundation for his abstract sculptures that would be created someday in the future.
The works are available to view, purchase and commission. For enquiries and a full list of currently available works, please contact Tsai & Yoshikawa.
