Talk by Artist Mariko Kusumoto
Date: Friday, November 7, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Cost: FREE (with paid museum admission)
Location: Morikami Theater
Learn about Kusumoto’s journey as an artist, beginning with her undergraduate studies working in 2-dimensional medium (oil painting and printmaking), and then her 18-year career as a metalsmith, and how she transitioned into working with fabrics. As new opportunities presented themselves, the direction of her work was able to evolve by allowing her instinct to lead her. Through that evolution her career has been like a journey.
Our theater tends to be cold. You may want to bring with you a sweater or jacket.
Learn about this exhibition
Meet the Artist
Mariko Kusumoto was born in Kumamoto, Japan. Educated in Tokyo and San Francisco, currently lives in Massachusetts. She is a mixed media artist known for creating elaborate collages of miniature interactive worlds in metal boxes using rare metalsmithing techniques. Her work is imbued with her memories in Japan and of growing up in a 400-year old Japanese temple, where her father was a Buddhist Priest. Fascinated by the potential of different materials, Kusumoto turned to fabric in order to construct forms of elegant simplicity and evocative imagery. Her designs are incorporated into jewelry and sculptural pieces, and in collaborations with renowned fashion designers Jean Paul Gaultier, and luxury brands such as Tiffany and Co., La Mer, and Elizabeth Arden. Her work is also in the permanent collections of museums in the US and Europe.
