Modifying traditional craft processes such as papermaking and basket weaving, Obayashi’s work explores the three-dimensional possibilities of craft materials. Her process begins by following the natural inclinations of materials and then pushing them into new aesthetic realms. In both installation and object, her work deals with reconciling the inner and the outer. The Discernible Interior of Things relies on warp and weft—a grid of crossing matter—in order to hold space. The scale of the work varies widely, from small contained objects to visually enterable installations that mindfully articulate empty space. In grounded symbols of nature, Obayashi materializes nebulous themes of balance and liminality.

Mika Obayashi’s work has been exhibited internationally in Japan and the U.S. Her first solo exhibition, As the Crow Flies, was mounted at the fiber arts venue, GalleryGallery, in Kyoto, Japan in 2020. She is a recipient of the 2020 Amelia Peabody Award for Sculpture given by the St. Botolph Club Foundation in Boston. Obayashi earned a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College in 2019 where she focused on sculpture, papermaking, and Japanese art. She is interested in both Western and Japanese styles of hand papermaking and most recently, basket weaving. Originally from Michigan, Obayashi now resides and works in Western Massachusetts.