Yoko Noguchi - Artist in Residence / Metals
Email: ynoguchi@tntech.edu

Cow Delivering Eggs: Dedicated to Iowa Farmers & Cows

Origami Teapot

Yoko moved to Iowa City to study painting in 2002 from Tokyo, where she was born and grew up. Although her artistic receptiveness appeared in her early years, she was sidetracked and became an instructor of business courses. However, her desire to pursue art remained strong, and in 1995 she came to the United States and took studio art courses at an art school in San Francisco. After working in Japan for several years, she became a full time student at University of Iowa, where she met Professor Hung-shu Hu, an instructor of 3D design. She found an interest in 3D objects and earned an MA in design at University of Iowa. She focused more on metalsmithing after getting her MA, and worked with Professor Chunghi Choo and Professor Kee-Ho Yuen, and received an MFA in Jewelry and Metal Arts.

Her most recent pieces display her interest in farm animals and scenes from Iowa. This is a reflection of her appreciation for the time she spent in Iowa, which presented her the opportunity to meet the professors who exerted great influence on her, and where she found her direction to become a metalsmith. Her work, varied in subject matter, has a common theme by presenting itself in a narrative form combined with a whimsical feeling. Recently her pieces have involved mechanisms as she enjoys providing the viewer a dynamic piece that instills a sense of interaction with the viewer, and brings the element of time to her work.

Her pieces have won many awards, including a bronze prize at the Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2007, and NICHE finalist. They have been displayed both nationally and internationally. Her work has also beenpublished and is included in the book “500 Metal Vessels” and “500 Wedding Rings.”