Rio Hashimoto

Born in Shiga in 1998 and currently based in Kyoto, Rio Hashimoto graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Crafts, with a specialization in Urushi Lacquering, and completed her Master’s Degree in the same field at the university’s Graduate School of Fine Arts in 2025.

Her practice ranges from urushi lacquer sculpture to video installation, exploring the tension between “order” — the aesthetic standards cultivated within Japanese lacquer craft — and the elements that deviate from it. Urushi itself embodies this duality: a material capable of yielding mirror-smooth surfaces, yet one that causes inflammation when it touches skin. By holding these opposing forces — beauty and discomfort, attraction and taboo — within a single work, she uses lacquer to probe the boundaries of empathy and rejection in human perception.

At the core of her philosophy lies a strong emphasis on the creative process itself, rather than the finished work. This philosophy aligns naturally with the spirit of kintsugi: rather than concealing imperfections, she brings them to the forefront, embracing cracks and flaws as opportunities for transformation and new meaning. Through restoring broken ceramics using traditional methods, she offers more than restoration — she expands the potential of urushi lacquer as both material and medium for artistic expression.