Masaaki Yonemoto Skyscraper XLV (2021)

Appearances can be deceiving. At first glance, Yonemoto’s glass sculptures look as if they are made from a solid block of carved glass. This is far from truth. In fact, his glass prisms are made of up to 15 separate layers of gigantic sheet glass of the highest clarity that are attached one by one through a special ‘photobond’ adhesive that disappears and hardens under ultraviolet light. Taking several days to attach each sheet of glass together without creating air bubbles or leaving impurities in-between the glass, the artist further places within his glass a magic mirror coating that adds a reflective and infinite quality to his iridescent sculptures. Yonemoto then takes a diamond-head polisher to cut through the edges of the glass, carving only a millimetre at a time to discover the ideal silhouette in his mind’s eye. This process takes up to two weeks to perform until he can sculpt the glass into a riveting form ‘shorn of excess.’ Next, the artist takes nearly two weeks to polish the entirety of his glass facades with cerium oxide, ensuring that the work shines without damaging or causing cracks to his distinctive edges. Free-standing and balanced without any need of a base, Yonemoto’s seductive glass sculptures point to the future of glass as a compelling medium for contemporary sculpture.