[AAFHK2026 #2] Reconstructing Memory in Metal — Introducing Takeshi Harada's 14 Works for Hong Kong
From Thursday, May 14 through Sunday, May 17, Gallery Seek is exhibiting at Booth F02 of Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2026, held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Here we introduce one of the four artists showing with us: Takeshi Harada (b. 1984, Aichi Prefecture).
【Biography】 Harada completed graduate studies in metal sculpture at the Graduate School of Arts, Hiroshima City University. He won the Grand Prix at the Tokyo Midtown Award 2014 art competition. He is based in Akitakata, Hiroshima Prefecture.
【Practice】 Harada freely commands copper, brass, silver, lacquer, and colored foil through the three traditional metalwork techniques — forging, engraving, and casting — to reconstruct in three-dimensional metal form “memories of watching plants and animals with childhood wonder in nature.” In his own words, he places little weight on being realistic — yet realism naturally emerges in the process of drawing memory back into form. He uses no paint whatsoever; every color arises through the metal's own chemical transformation (blackening via potassium sulfide, coloration via flame oxidation) or through alloying.
【Recent Development】 Working under the theme “scenery,” Harada now focuses on pieces that enclose scenes of familiar plants and animals within objects that serve a practical purpose — incense burners, boxes, and lidded vessels. At first glance they read as sculpture, but lift the lid and incense can actually be burned, or objects stored inside — a playful sense of “delight upon discovery” that runs through his work.
【AAFHK2026: 14 works, HKD 4,053 – 42,842】
▶ Trace / 2024 / H44×W30×D30cm / HKD 42,842 — A weighty work combining copper, silver, brass, iron, tin, and colored foil; where multiple metals meet, a “trace” left by the passage of time is carved into three-dimensional form.
▶ spring -Dandelion and Japanese Five-lined Skink Three-legged Incense Burner- / 2025 / H14×W12×D13cm / HKD 26,053 — A three-legged incense burner adorned with dandelions and a Japanese five-lined skink; a signature piece from his “vessels with purpose” series.
▶ Summer Night / 2025 / H26×W15×D9cm / HKD 18,526 — Silver leaf catching a faint gleam of light, holding the air of a summer night — the atmosphere of a summer evening once looked up at as a child.
▶ Late Summer / 2025 / H26×W15×D9cm / HKD 18,526 — Silver and copper leaf intersecting, capturing a scene as summer fades.
Also on view: Swallowtail Butterfly, Moonlight Spider's Thread, My Pudding à la Mode, My Canelé (two sizes), Road, and A Break in the Rainy Season, among fourteen works ranging from study-sized pieces in the HKD 4,000s to major works in the HKD 40,000s.
【Dates & Venue】
– Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2026
– Private View: Thursday, May 14 – Sunday, May 17, 2026
– Public hours: Fri 15th 12:00–20:00 / Sat 16th 10:00–19:00 / Sun 17th 10:00–19:00
– Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)
– Gallery Seek Booth F02
▶ For details and inquiries: https://art-scenes.net/ja/artworks/42655