• Among Ryo's contemporary glass works are vessels, objects and jewellery
• He combines Venetian glassblowing techniques with a Japanese sensibility
• His work has featured in solo and joint exhibitions at galleries and design spaces in Japan

Based in Hyogo, Ryo Sekino explores the expressive possibilities of molten glass through vessels, sculptural forms and jewellery. His path to glass began unexpectedly when he enrolled in a design school and discovered glassblowing. "Observing the transformation of molten material at the furnace convinced me to pursue the craft," Ryo says. After training in Osaka and helping set up a studio workshop, he worked with glass artists abroad before establishing his own studio with his wife, Yuko. Their practice combines traditional glassblowing with contemporary experimentation. Today, Ryo develops objects whose forms sometimes emerge from sketches and sometimes from the physical dialogue between hand, tool and molten material.