Diego PÉREZ

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Diego PÉREZ

Participating Project	International Creator Residency Program (Individual Projects)
Activity Base	Mexico City
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2025.9 - 2025.11

Purpose of the residency

The rich tradition of Japanese art and craftmanship is one I profoundly admire. Since my early youth, I have looked up to Japan as a place of enormous magnetism and affinity. Observe, learn as much as possible, visit places that sustain local traditions, learn about local and regional artisan workshops, and try to collaborate with some of them. Sharing my work with the Tokyo artistic community will be a privilege, but the most important thing is dialogue. I think the world is at a crossroads, and it's very important to foster dialogue and the exchange of ideas. 

Plan during the residency

・Visit local and regional workshops dedicated to ceramics and stone sculpture. Promote, if possible, some form of interaction
　 and collaboration with  some of these workshops.
・Walking is a form of sculpture: walking and strolling with my camera. Keeping a visual and emotional diary of my time in Tokyo.
・Visit sites of historical interest for their artistic value, such as gardens and buildings.
・Visit the museum of the American-Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture.
・While at the studio at Tokas doing my studio work: In one hand the preparation of my painting supports (Cretas) 　
　for later sketching and painting in Tokas and also small size ceramic sculptures that could be fired at some nearby ceramic workshop. 

Activities during the residency

-Walking, eating, visiting museums, walking with my photographic camera recording everything that captured my attention.
- I walked through the Sumida neighborhood deeply ( the residence neighborhood) and I did a photo essay about how housing is changing in the area. The old houses in the neighborhood are being demolished to make way for apartment buildings with no local character.
-Visiting workshops of artists and craftsmen.
-I have painted a series of new oil paintings.
-Worked in a ceramic workshop where I produced 5 new ceramic sculptures.
-I produced a new sculptor piece on coper together with a local craft man.
- I traveled to Kyoto where I visited many places of great interest for my practice such as Villa Katsura, Kawai Kangiro´s house, the Kitamura Museum, the Raku Museum, Shigerogi Mirei´s house and garden, Shoji Temple, Tofuku-ji Temple, Ginkaku-ji temple, the Sanjusangendo Temple, the Kinkaku-ji pavilion and many other temples, shrines and museums.
- In Tokyo I visited many museums as well. Some of them a couple of times. Among my favorites are: The Japan Folk and Craft Museum, The Nezu museum, and the National Museum of Tokyo. Other visited museums were: The National Modern Art Museum, The contemporary Art Museum, The Okura Museum, the Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum, The Suntory Museum, The Artisan Museum, the National Art Center, etcetera.
- I went to Nikko with some resident fellows where we visited the major Temples areas as well as hiking around the natural parks.

Outcome of the residency

Coming to Japan and getting closer to its everyday life and culture was a main achieved objective.
Getting to know by first hand some of the places that represent the epitome of Japanese aesthetics was one of my primary goals. I was able to start a new series of pieces (The copper fountain) which I am sure I will continue to develop and deepen into its materiality. Finding new materials and new languages is of great importance for my sculptor practice.
I was able to start another new series, a ceramic new set of sculptures that I consider to be the beginning of a new path of works.

Creator Information