South Carolina has been Yuri’s home since the 1960s when she moved there from Japan. Her grandfather and father traveled to South Carolina from Nagoya to build the first of many textile mills in the South. As a child shuttled back and forth, her only constants were the two trees in her respective gardens: A magnolia tree and a cherry tree.

“I believe that the way we see and interpret the world is imprinted upon us as a child. Having been brought up between Japan and Greenville, the way nature is experienced and appreciated in these two cultures greatly influences and informs how I work as an artist.”

Yuri’s approach is to abandon preconception. To thoughtfully let go. The material — whether paper, wood, or steel — is approached with humility and an understanding of its innate properties. Paper tears. Wood rots. Steel is too heavy to lift.