Nakagawa Mamoru Japanese, Living National Treasures, 1947

Recognized for his outstanding mastery of zōgan (metal-inlay), Nakagawa Mamoru was designated a Living National Treasure in 2004 at the age of 56 –the second youngest in history. Nakagawa has been a seminal figure in revitalizing metal-inlay as an important genre of decorative arts in Japan since its decline during the Meiji Restoration period. He has enlivened the traditionally monotone realm of metal-casting with an unprecedented palette of colors. Since the zōgan technique is said to have originated from Turkey, the artist has traveled there on numerous occasions, following the Silk Road, the cultural crossroads of eastern and western Asia. In 2008, he visited the United States on a cultural exchange fellowship under Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. While on the fellowship in Washington, D.C., he taught a master class on the Kaga zōgan technique at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. The same year, Nakagawa’s work was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the museum’s first contemporary Japanese metalwork.

 

Selected Exhibitions  

2013-2024 Asia Week New York, US 

—2023 Japan Traditional Kōgei Annual Exhibition, Japan 

—2023 Living National Treasure Annual Exhibition, Japan 

2023 Nakagawa Mamoru - Beautiful Metalwork and Design, Panasonic     

          Shiodome Museum, Japan

2022 Japan Metalwork Exhibition - Metropolitan Museum of Art 150th    

          Anniversary Exhibition, New York, US

2015  Asia Art Fair, New York, US 

          SOFA Chicago, Illinois, US  

2013  Contemporary Kōgei Styles in Japan, Morikami Museum, Florida,    

          US

2012  Solo Exhibition at Taiwan Gold Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan 

 

Selected Awards 

2018 Received the Order of the Sacred Treasure 

2009 Received the Medal with the Purple Ribbon 

2003 Received the 50th Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan      

          Kogeo Association Holder's Award

2001 Received the 48th Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan     

          Kogei Association Holder's Award

 

Selected Public Collections 

Agency for Cultural Affairs | Japan 

The British Museum | London, UK

Victori and Albert Museum | London, UK

The Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York, US 

Smithsonian Museum | Washingto DC, US 

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art | Ishikawa, Japan 

Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art | Japan 

National Crafts Gallery | Tokyo, Japan 

Kanazawa College of Art and Crafts | Ishikawa, Japan 

Kanazawa Utatsuyama Crafts Studio | Ishiwaka, Japan