The Miyagawa Kosai story is quite long and complex, since there have been so many quality members of the family as well as top-class students from the line. Scholars sometimes debate which members of the family are the superior artists. This kind of debate is fruitless, since each has their own style and therefore […]
The altogether too brief Kamakura period showcased art that juxtaposed fascinating Buddhist divinities alongside of modern notions of artistic realism. Asia Society recently featured an exhibition that covered this time period in Japanese history, and it featured many different representations of Buddhist divinities in vibrant styles.
An approximately 22-inch tall head of a guardian with […]
Fukumoto Fuku was featured in many places before the Mizen Gallery of Art featured her pieces in person. At one point they had a feature written up on her in Ceramics: Art and Perception, which is an honor in its own right.
Ms. Fukumoto remarked that the use of both exterior white glaze and interior […]
Between Steptember 19 and October 10, 2015 art appreciators were treated to a special exhibition of lacquerware held at the Mizen Gallery. The exhibition featured pieces taken straight from the universe of Kurimoto Natsuki. This isn’t something that most people get a chance to see regularly.
This exhibition got to show off the rare urushi […]
On Saturday, May 23, 2015 Sasai Fumie completed her extension of the lacquer exhibition that was held at the Mizen Fine Art gallery.
Sasai Fumie is a contemporary artist who works in the laquer medium. She’s also a Professor of the field of Art at the University of the Arts in Kyoto.
While urushi lacquer work […]
Some of the most interesting urushi artists are those who are quite radical. Kurimoto Natsuki is an excellent example. He graduated from the Kyoto University of Fine Arts in 1985 and finished a master’s program at the same school two years later. A solo exhibition of his urushi lacquer work was shown off at […]
Those who appreciate permanent displays should have a look at the Works of Living National Treasures and Great Masters exhibit at the Crafts Gallery at the National Museum of Modern Art. The exhibit itself is small, but it’s not going away any time soon. It’s part of a program that presents the work of […]
Ikebana International has 165 chapters of their wonderful organization in sixty different countries around the world. They’ve been in existence since 1956, and were initially founded in Japan. Their branch in New York holds a full exhibition once a year in the metropolitan area. Amazingly it opened only one year after the original branch […]
The National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Cultural Institute in Rome. To do so they put together an incredible exhibition of 170 nihonga paintings and other decorative art pieces. The event also celebrated the 400th anniversary of the founding of the […]
Most people with an interest in collecting Japanese ceramics have come across chawan tea bowls. For that matter, anyone with a passing interest in traditional Japanese life has probably come into contact with these humble but useful pieces of yakimono history. They’re really quite ubiquitous.
A chawan is a bowl that’s used for the preparation […]
