finally, at the end of the show, takeshi miyakawa completed his sculpture image © designboom

new york-based japanese-born designer takeshi miyakawa presented his work in the designboom curated show yakitate! at dwell on design 2011 in los angeles, june 24 – 26, 2011.

‘yakitate’ is japanese for ‘freshly baked’, and this cultural group exhibition featured the work of eight independent professionals / groups influencing the contemporary design scene in japan. in the diverse fields of animation, lighting design, architecture, textile design and craft, the young talents explore the role of tradition and innovation, from functional design to sculpture. for the duration of the show, the participating designers delivered 30 minute workshop performances, twice a day to visitors, giving them an up close look to their work and design process. large crowds gathered, offering a lively atmosphere. Q+A sessions in each of these workshops were translated for those designers who were less fluent in english language.

takeshi was working under the theme of ‘exploring the design process’, giving the audience a look at the importance of model making in his work. he demonstrated his production method, beginning with a simple sketch, making a model which lead to the construction of a full-scale sculptural work by the end of the exhibition. the foam board sculpture has been completed only a few minutes after the show. delicate in its appearance, strong in its construction, it now has a home at the entrance of the dwell offices in LA!

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! designer takeshi miyakawa delivering a workshop during the designboom curated exhibition yakitate! at dwell on design 2011 image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! materials and supplies image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! the yakitate! designers working together on takeshi’s sculpture image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! adding some color! image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! takeshi miyakawa with kazuhiro yamanaka image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! the show ended a few minutes ago, the sculpture is still not complete image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! team work makes it happen! image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! original concept sketch image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! daily performances! image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! takeshi with the original small model from which he constructed the larger sculpture image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! the finished model image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! the yakitate! designers with the finished sculpture image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! takeshi hand-cutting the letters for his exhibition signage image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! applying the letters to the wall image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! takeshi setting up his yakitate! space image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! image © designboom

takeshi miyakawa at yakitate! takeshi’s neon light sculpture has been checked intensively by the airport security and was delivered only the day after image © designboom