I came across these beautiful images over the weekend. Ryuta Iida is a young artist (b. 1981) who creates tactile sculptures with immense discipline and accuracy. He first entered my radar screen maybe 3 months ago when I saw a show of his over at CALM & PUNK Gallery in Tokyo. At that time there were some collaborative pieces showing, but for this exhibit, titled “ewiges equivalent,” we get a glimpse of his individual work, which includes some amazing reliefs carved in books.

I always feel a bit uneasy when someone destroys a book, even for artistic purposes. I guess it’s because I think of books as everlasting but am then confronted with an object that used to be a book but is hardly recognizable in it’s new role.

The show runs through December 13th at the Takuro Someya Contemporary Art center.

Related:

• Yuichi Higashionna at Calm and Punk

I’m pleased to welcome aboard a new sponsor today! RareMonoShop is the official US website for Japan’s top gadget designer, Thanko.They have all sorts of neat gadgets from USB-powered humidifiers (I totally want one!) to human-powered mp3 players (for all you eco-concious music lovers). I’m sure there’s something for everyone so check out their website!