The Eternal Beauty of Metal

NEW YORK, N.Y. — February 2021: In celebration of Asia Week New York 2021, Onishi Gallery (521 W. 26th Street) is proud to announce its next exhibition “The Eternal Beauty of Metal,” opening on March 11. Onishi Gallery regularly features the best of contemporary Japanese metal art and represents many leading figures in the field, including nine artists designated “Living National Treasures.”

The exhibition’s title, “The Eternal Beauty of Metal,” reflects the philosophy of Ōsumi Yukie—Japan’s first female Living National Treasure in metal art—who has written that there is “ . . . something particularly meaningful about the way that metals can substitute the permanent for the fleeting and transitory, conferring eternity on phenomena that would otherwise have a limited lifespan.” Featuring vessels made from gold, silver, platinum, copper, lead, and unique Japanese alloys, worked in techniques including casting, chiseling, hammering, and overlay, “The Eternal Beauty of Metal” will show that the makers of these contemporary masterpieces are distinct in their personal modes of expression, but united in their embrace of traditional methods.

 The metalwork artists whose works will be displayed in this exhibit will also be among the artists featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibit Japan: A History of Style.