A PRAYER TO THE UNIVERSE

Takeshi Maruyama’s sculpture is his bulwark against Death. He describes his art as ‘the source of my salvation.’ I might describe it as ‘broadly religious.’ Takeshi san’s work reflects a reverence for the unseen, and a profound compassion for human suffering. We first became acquainted in 2020 while he was the resident artist at a Philippine university. However, the virtual collaboration culminating in this exhibition of work from that 12-year residency began much more recently. Braving both language and cultural barriers, Takeshi san shared intimate thoughts in a series of intense email exchanges—that included describing an impulse to join his hands in prayer when confronting a completed work. I experience his sculpture as poetry made manifest in clay.

–Walter L. Meyer, AWB Founder