Living with Objects

In May 2026, Rurbanism presented Shohei Ono × Alvar Aalto / Rurbanism Exhibition 2026 in Omotesando, Tokyo.

The exhibition brought together ceramic works by Shohei Ono alongside Nordic vintage furniture, including pieces by Alvar Aalto.

At first glance, they may seem to belong to entirely different cultural contexts.

Yet what draws us to them is not their country of origin or the era in which they were made, but the values that run beneath them.

Shohei Ono’s works emerge through an intimate dialogue with clay.

Alvar Aalto’s furniture was born from a similar dialogue—with natural light, wood, and the surrounding environment.

Aalto questioned the cold, mechanical functionalism that came to define much of twentieth-century modernism. 

For him, efficiency and rationality alone were not enough. 

He sought to restore a sense of humanity to architecture and design—considering not only how people use objects, but how they feel and live with them.

What he pursued was a philosophy rooted in harmony with nature and human-centered functionalism.

By embracing organic forms found in nature and the warmth of natural materials, he created architecture and furniture that responded to the human body and spirit.

His work was more than a design language; it was an attempt to reconsider the relationship between people and the natural world.

In many ways, this resonates with Shohei Ono’s approach to making. Digging clay from the mountains himself and working in collaboration with the forces of nature, Ono creates objects that carry both intention and surrender.

What connects them is a shared belief that humans do not dominate nature, but create through dialogue with it.

Perhaps that is why, when placed together in the same space, their works respond to one another so naturally.

What we hoped to present through this exhibition was not simply a collection of objects.
It was a landscape.

Furniture, vessels, plants, and light—each element existing in relation to the others, creating something larger than itself.

It was neither a completed interior nor a conventional gallery exhibition.

Rather, it was a space for living: a place where time accumulates, memories form, and everyday life unfolds.

For us, it represented one expression of what Living with Objects means.

Throughout the exhibition, we were grateful to welcome many visitors from diverse backgrounds.

People spent time with the works, each bringing their own perspectives and experiences into the space.

What left the strongest impression on us was that many conversations were not about individual pieces, but about the atmosphere itself.
That felt significant.

It suggested that what we are pursuing is not merely the sale of objects, but the cultivation of culture, memory, and ways of living.

Rurbanism will continue exploring new relationships between people and objects through ceramics, furniture, plants, architecture, and rural culture.
This exhibition stands as the first record of that ongoing journey.