Funakoshi uses camphor wood, a soft wood which complements the serenity of his figures. The sculptures are painted in subtle tones that enhance both the characteristics of the wood and its ability to mimic human flesh. The figures are rarely actual likenesses but are intensely personal and, despite portraying only the head and torso, have the presence of real people: of body and of spirit.
The spirituality of the works is emphasised by the surrealist additions of animal features or transplanted body parts. In some of the most recent sculptures, Funakoshi has included additional objects, such as animals and trees that form a circle around the figure's head. In Funakoshi's own words "When something happens, I can see lots of things which stand up from one's shoulder just like an aurora and a rainbow, orbiting above one's head, and sinking into the other side."
Funakoshi was born in Japan in 1951 and studied at Tokyo University of Art. He has received many awards and has exhibited in Japan, USA and Europe. His first exhibition at Annely Juda Fine Art was in 1991 and this is his fifth exhibition here. In 2000 he had a major one-man exhibition at Annely Juda Fine Art, which toured to Kunsthalle Recklinghausen and Städtische Museen Heilbronn, Germany. The current exhibition comprises 7 sculptures and 15 drawings.
