The Floral artist
Fukuoka-born, self-styled ‘haute couture florist’ Azuma Makoto arrived in Tokyo intending to become a grunge musician, taking a part-time job as trader at a flower market to supplement his income. Little by little his interest in flowers grew into an obsession. He opened his Jardins des Fleurs store in 2002 in Ginza, later moving to Minami-Aoyama, and also ran a floral gallery, AMPG, in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, exhibiting his extraordinary private work. In 2009, he founded an experimental laboratory, AMKK (Azuma Makoto Botanical Research Institute), to ‘expand his art activities and pursue the infinite potential of plants’.
Makoto is not your average, vase-based gypsophila arranger – he’s worked with Dior, Helmut Lang, Hermès and even Lego. One large-scale work is called Green Dog House. Another is Botanical Ashtray. ‘I’m focused on elevating the value of flowers and plants by expressing their unique forms. I convert the beauty of nature into artwork.’
The simple act of being among flowers and plants provides endless inspiration for Makoto. ‘The life of flowers and plants is much more transient than ours,’ he reflects. ‘You need to be sensitive to their tiny changes, such as moments of blooming… and also withering. By keeping attuned to these, I’m able to capture their moments of beauty.’
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