Lacquered Octagonal Box "Dawn"

Description

• Category
  Lacquerware
• Dimensions
  H 8.7 x W 24.3 x D 24.3 cm
• Year presented
  2024
• Rarity
  Unique

Techniques Used

Lacquering

Lacquering (kyūshitsu) is the art of applying lacquer to a substrate using spatulas or brushes. The technique includes a range of processes, from reinforcing the substrate with cloth to building up the foundation and applying the middle- and top-coats. The final coat can be left as is (nuritate), polished with charcoal to a high-gloss finish (roiro shiage), or given one of several hundred alternative (kawarinuri) finishes. Lacquer application is known for both its technical difficulty and richly expressive qualities.

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Awards received

• The 41st Lacquerware Traditional Kōgei Exhibition (2024)
• Asahi Shimbun Award

Comment on Award

It is dawn. The sky is still dusky and the red, shining clouds are floating in the sky.
I wanted to express such scene in my artwork and thought how I could paint the lacquer to create a contrast between red and black and make the red shine slightly within the jet black color. I first applied red glossy lacquer on the surface of the box and then applied black matte lacquer over it. Using a spatula, I finely scraped each corner to make the simple straight lines of the octagon stand out. As this was the first time I tried this way of painting lacquer, I am very happy to have been awarded for this piece. This has truly encouraged me in creating artworks going forward, and I would like to continue challenging new things. Thank you very much.
(from the Japan Kōgei Association Lacquerware Traditional Kōgei Exhibition Catalog)

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