Suzumegusa art gallery

The colourful banners fluttering in the sea breeze will draw anyone’s attention to the quiet and unassuming building that serves as home, studio and gallery for the original and varied work of a young husband and wife team of artists. Both originally hail from across the Seto lnland Sea in rural Hiroshima and were drawn to Imi because of its mild climate and growing artistic community.

The couple each have their own distinct work. Toyokazu Ono, who works under his brand Yotsume, was born into a family of traditional dyers and has blended the skills he learnt at home with a cheerful and keen sense of design to produce multicolored fabrics. He then turns these into a wide variety of items including wall hangings, scarves, place mats, cushions, clothes and slippers. Miki Oka, has established herself as an accomplished ceramicist both in Japan and overseas producing distinct and vivid works of collectible art including crockery and large-scale objets, that often revolve around her favourite themes of chickens and cats.