Hiroto Rakusho is a global gold leaf artist who freely manipulates colors through the proprietary technology of applying heat to the gold and silver leaf. Works of art that are incorporated with the traditional Japanese art techniques of Nishijin are lustrous and yet emit a profound brightness that draws its viewers into a dreamy fantasy land. These works of art are receiving attention from media outlets worldwide.

Moon and Wind
This exhibit will display folding screens (over 6 meters in width) created in conjunction with Masato Kinoshita, a Kumiko craftsman.
Kumiko is a Japanese technique where you assemble delicate woodworks without using nails. The delicate Kumiko expresses a gentle breeze that makes it feel as if fall has arrived, while Hiroto Rakusho's leaves boldly express the moon. Enjoy an enchanting space where you are enveloped in wind during a full moon.

Hiroto Rakusho

Hiroto Rakusho was born in 1962 in the Nishijin district of Kyoto.
He first took up traditional metal leaf design under the training of his father, Jisaku Nishiyama, a winner of the Kyoto City Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution to Traditional Handicrafts. In addition to carrying on the family tradition, Hiroto is active in the creative production of gold- and silver-leaf patterns as an art form, and he also pursues research in metals and yohen (a natural ash glaze produced when firing pottery).
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry certified Hiroto as a master of traditional handicrafts in 1997. He is active in France and Italy. Moreover, he has worked on a wide variety of creative projects, including the restoration of art objects and interior design at places like the Kyoto National Museum and the Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel.
In his work for the Digital Archive Project, which is aimed at preserving cultural properties, Hiroto employs reproductive techniques never before used by any other metal leaf artist, guided by his own theory and experience. He is thus able to preserve precious cultural properties, put them to good use and introduce them to the rest of the world.
His technique of reproducing old paintings with metal leaf has been patented.
In 2004, Hiroto was inaugurated as director of the Kyoto International Cultural Foundation. In 2006, he completed a meticulous reproduction of the folding screen "Wind and Thunder Gods," which is a designated national treasure, and dedicated it to Ken'ninji Temple-Japan's oldest Zen temple. He also reproduced various pictures on the partitions located at Nanzenji Temple, Myoshinji Temple, Shokokuji Temple, Zuishin-in Temple, Nijo Castle and Nagoya Castle.
He has also taken part in a project to reproduce Japanese art works in foreign museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Seattle Art Museum. Thanks to the project, folding screens and paintings decorated by Korin and Kano artists have been brought back home to Kyoto.
2011: Gold Leaf Kyoto Collection exhibition held at Bergdorf Goodman in New York
2015: Golden Renaissance solo exhibition held in Kuwait
2017: Artglorieux exhibits works at Art Fair Tokyo 2017