For her first exhibition in the gallery, Yukari Hotta presents a series of sculptures, installed together as a site-specific installation. As a contrast to previous exhibitions each sculpture – usually installed in one big, organic group centered around themselves – are now aligned in a row by colour evoking a bodily experience of the sculptures as we move around the space allowing us to contemplate each work individually in a more direct way.

 

At the heart of the exhibtion Soft Shell is the egg. The title plays on and explores the duality of the egg both on a physical and metaphorical level. In Yukari Hotta’s sculptures, the materiality plays a central role, the choice of raw, unglazed clay echoes the natural, unadorned state of an egg, emphasizing the organic forms and textures that arise from her hands-on process. The surface of an egg, much like Hotta's sculptures, may at first hand look simple but can vary greatly in texture, thickness, and colour. Whether smooth, rough, large, or small, each egg's shell carries subtle details that reveal its origin and function, much like the nuanced surfaces of Hotta’s sculptures, which range from raw and coarse to finely polished. These subtle nuances are a testament to her close connection with the material, inviting an intimate interaction between the artwork and the viewer.

 

Eggs, despite (or perhaps because of) their visual simplicity have always held particular symbolic significance, partly because it is a visual shorthand for new life and un-hatched potential. Its soft, fragile interior shielded by a hard outer shell conveys themes of protection, secrets, and the inner self. The egg brings hope and purity. It is a symbol of fertility and the circle of life. In some Asian cultures the egg is seen as a symbol of luck and wealth. Ancient traditions used to link the egg to the creation of the universe, suggesting that the Earth itself may have been born out of an egg. It has found its way into literature, Art History (eg. Salvadore Dalí, Claes Oldenburg, Sarah Lucas) and popular culture. It’s symbolic riches are apparently inexhaustible. There is something truly universal about an egg transcending cultural, gender, and religious boundaries.   

 

Through the deceptively simple yet deeply resonant symbol of the egg, Hotta opens a dialogue about the essence of existence, both fragile and resilient, as each piece holds a unique story within its material and form, where philosophy, and human experience in their varied manifestations merge into a contemplative, sensory journey – quietly asking us to pause, reflect, and perhaps discover the ‘soft’ secrets hidden beneath its surface or, more intriguingly, to realize that the surface itself acts as a vessel revealing our own inner truths. Calling forth the words of Hotta’s great inspiration Sonja Ferlov Mancoba: “Only through each other can we live and breathe, and no one creates alone."    

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Yukari Hotta (b. 1979, Tokyo Japan) lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. She holds a Master Degree from the Royal Danish Academy, School of Design. Recent exhibitions include STRANGE POWER, commune gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2024), BIOTOPE, L'Space Gallery, New York, USA (2024), Mindcraft, Copenhagen, Denmark (2023), The Atelier Collection, A Collaborative project with Reform, Denmark (2023), SHAPESHIFTER, Scooters for Piece, Tokyo, Japan (2023), Wildflowers, OUTPOST, Copenhagen, Denmark (2022), Utsuwa, OUTPOST, Copenhagen, Denmark (2021).