NATSUKO TOYOFUKU
Natsuko Toyofuku, Natsu to her friends, came to Italy from Japan as a child in the early 1960s. Her mother, Kazuko Shika, was a painter, while her father, Tomonori Toyofuku, was an established sculptor who, after participating in the Venice Biennale, decided to move to Milan, where his family joined him shortly afterwards.
She grew up in a vibrant artistic milieu: she was often surrounded by artists and designers and her parents involved her in art exhibitions and events in Milan and elsewhere. This stimulating environment fuelled her curiosity, and over time Natsu developed an artistic sensibility of her own, inspired by the world around her.
In the 1980s, with a mixture of instinct and impetuousness, she began to create her first pieces of jewellery. She explored unusual techniques and materials, foreshadowing a style that would prove to be pioneering in a field that was still essentially traditional in taste.
Her mentor was the sculptor Davide De Paoli, who introduced her to the secrets of matter in his Primateria workshop. After this initial, important experience, in 1990, she decided to open an atelier in Milan.
For her creations, she favours bronze and silver. Bronze in particular because it is the stuff of sculptures: tactile, light, and characterised by warm, vivid tones. Then silver, perfect for defining broad, voluminous shapes.
Her jewellery embodies abstract forms that move in smooth, twisted or pinched ways, in a constant search for dynamism, always playing with the subtraction of matter. Her inspiration comes from art and nature, two worlds that often border or overlap. Through harmonious, sinuous lines, as in the Rose and Buchi collections, Natsuko Toyofuku’s jewellery mimics organic forms, with the aim not of reproducing them pragmatically, but rather of capturing their underlying essence.
At the same time, the essentiality and minimalism that characterise her work stem from the fusion of Japanese style and Scandinavian formal concision, which she has always admired. The result is a set of clean, simple forms in perfect harmony with each other.
Fuelled by undying passion and curiosity, Natsuko’s technique has refined and evolved over the years, while remaining faithful to her early creations.
The transition between the idea and the realisation of each piece of jewellery is a delicate and fundamental process. This is where traditional Italian craftsmanship comes into play: the casting, assembly and finishing of the pieces are all carried out in Milan, with the help of trusted, expert artisans. Each individual piece is handcrafted, a sign of quality and uniqueness. These are multiples, each individually worked as a one-off piece, made unique by its unrepeatability.
Her atelier is located at Corso Como 9, in the same space where her father worked for over forty years, leaving a record of himself in his works and in the atmosphere that one can still sense today. It is a place that has remained unchanged over time, like a small art gallery displaying Natsu’s jewellery and sculptures, the product of a mix of cultures that gives each creation a simple and balanced poise.
Toyofuku