Michiko Sakano is an acclaimed artisan glass blower based in Brooklyn.
She was born and raised in Kanazawa, Japan, a city recognized by UNESCO for its crafts and folk arts. Deeply influenced by her multi-generational kimono-making family, she sought her own path and came to the United States.
She earned her sculpture BFA at Syracuse and MFA at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. When she moved to New York City in 2000, she established One Sixty Glass in Williamsburg, a full-service glass design, blowing, and fabrication studio. She has since been a visiting artist and taught courses at the Cleveland Institute of Art, MIT, New York University, Ohio State University, Tyler School of Arts, University of Wisconsin, UrbanGlass, Pilchuck Glass School, the Penland School of Craft and others in the US, Europe, and Japan.
She uses her expertise to collaborate with renowned designers including Lindsey Adelman, Jorge Pardo, and Isadore Design. Her works are widely recognized for their originality and technical rigor and have been featured in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Food & Wine, and House & Garden.
Michiko’s solo work seeks freedom from the rigid adherence to external specifications. Her pieces explore the continuous tension between sameness and variation, and coexisting contradictions within glass textures, colors, and forms.
