【Friday, August 9 — Yoichi Okumura’s Toybox-Like Solo Exhibition 🧸🪁⭐】 You may have noticed his soft, rounded sculptures around town — at Furutono Shrine, the winery, Chuo Nursery School, and other spots — catching your eye with their gentle presence. The artist behind those works, Yoichi Okumura, is holding a solo exhibition in the assembly hall at Furutono Shrine while continuing his studio practice through the summer.✨ Although he usually lives in Miyazaki City, he stays in Gokasecho for about 40 days each summer, and this year marks his 28th season here.😯💡 Each visit he places works somewhere around Furutono Shrine, so roughly 28 pieces are now hidden around the grounds.😆 Finding them all is said to be quite a challenge…😏 The owl in the third photo is still unfinished, but it will join the collection at Furutono Shrine this year. A treasure-hunt-style stroll around the shrine sounds like fun.😊 His sculptures brim with playfulness: sometimes they carry a single color accent, other times they wear bold hues, and sometimes the stone’s natural color becomes part of the piece’s charm. Using a 6 mm chisel, he essentially paints on the stone with tiny dots — the detail is astonishingly delicate. He also paints, producing gentle, picture-book-style illustrations — truly lovely work.😌 (He has actually published a picture book.) Okumura said that whenever he makes work in Gokasecho he can’t help adding stars to them. The Gokase night sky finds its way into his pieces.⭐👏 We were able to observe him working; the scene felt like he was breathing life into the stone, conversing with each piece as he shaped it. The unworked stones placed near him seemed eager to be made into something, as if quietly asking to be transformed.😊✨ He will remain in Gokase through the end of August, so please consider visiting while you can.🙌 He will also hold a solo exhibition at gallery roof for in Miyazaki City from October 16 to 20. If you have the chance, do go see it.😌