It was 18 years ago that Guido de Zan held an exhibition in a corner of the select shop I ran before starting the gallery. It was through an introduction by jewellery artist Natsuko Toyofuku, daughter of sculptor Tomonori Toyofuku, who was active in Italy, that I visited his studio. The ceramic sculptures, like fragments of stories, appeared quiet yet free, chatty and joyful in the space, and I became enamoured with the little world that captured my imagination, and six months later I had started my own art gallery.

　Last year, I met him again after a long absence, and the lines and shapes produced by his hands still give rhythm to this world with their distinctive atmosphere and expression. The world-renowned designer Bruno Munari once described Guido de Zan's work as "a surface that cannot be replaced by another form, just as the skin of a snail is different from the skin of a snake in nature", reading the creative elements explored and composed by the artist from a designer's perspective. The works Guido creates from his unique perspective easily transcend the boundaries between art, design and craft, and move freely between drawing and image.

Gallery NAO MASAKI

Nao Masaki