Ikki Miyake was born in Tokyo in 1973 and received a doctorate from Tama Art University, with a special focus on wood sculpture and research into the aesthetics of different varieties of wood. Suashi Kotoba II (Fascination of Legs) (Lot 2424) was begun in 2000 and derives from one of the two major series of works by this artist. Miyake's wood sculpture combines the elegant lines of female legs with the beauty of wood grain and symbolizes aspects of the Eastern spirit. Contemporary trends in sculpture, in both the East and the West, show sculptors continuing to work in traditional materials while searching for and developing new media with which to shape sculptural forms. Korean sculptor Kwon Oh-Yang, for example, uses simple printed photos as his raw sculptural material; Balloon Dog, by Western sculptor Jeff Koons, uses light metals to simulate the texture of balloons on a larger scale. Miyake likewise gives careful consideration to the expressive potentials of his materials, choosing varieties of wood most representative of those used in East Asian societies, including torreya, cypress, and camphor, which have been traditionally used in Japan for carving precious likenesses of Buddha or exquisite pieces of home furniture. Ancient artisans typically employed the simple, pure earthiness of wood to express a mood of quiet serenity or a calm, composed attitude toward life; wood therefore represents the life ideals of East Asian cultures. Miyake's choice of wood as a medium conveys an Eastern spirit, a search for the spiritual and contemplative, that has seemingly been long forgotten in our current technological age. Wood possesses an inherent, natural grain that Miyake ingeniously exploits to bring out the soft, gentle textures of delicate female skin and hair, the folds of clothing, and the graceful curves of the human body, not to mention the ease and relaxation felt by his subjects as they stretch their legs in front of them. The wood's off-white color is ideal for displaying the color and smooth texture of the Asian female's skin, and the natural living qualities of the wood transform themselves into the subject's peaceful and inner-directed state of mind, making Miyake's creative approach in this work one more expression of an Eastern outlook and the value it places on man's harmonious coexistence with nature. Thus, in the figure it depicts, its theme, and its medium, Suashi Kotoba II fully reflects the era of its creation, yet at the same time gives voice to traditional aspects of Eastern culture, encouraging us to reexamine the importance of those values.