The Eternal Beauty of Metal

16 March - 6 May 2022
  • In celebration of Asia Week New York 2022, Onishi Gallery (521 W. 26th Street) is proud to announce its next exhibition “The Eternal Beauty of Metal,” opening on March 16.

  • Onishi Gallery regularly features the best of contemporary Japanese metal art and represents many leading figures in the field, including...

    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.”

  • THE MET RECEIVES A SIGNIFICANT GIFT OF 18 EXCEPTIONAL CONTEMPORARY METALWORKS BY JAPANESE ARTISTS

    Works by all artists featured in The Eternal Beauty of Metal can be seen at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Japan: A History of Style, a year-long exhibition currently on view through April 22, 2022. The works were selected by Monika Bincsik, Diane and Arthur Abbey Associate Curator for Japanese Decorative Arts, and generously gifted to The Met by Tokyo-based entrepreneur Hayashi Kaoru, Founder and Group CEO of Digital Garage, Inc., in honor of the Museum’s 150th anniversary.

  • JAPANESE METALWORK EXHIBITION AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

  • ŌSUMI YUKIE, JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE , B. 1945 ŌSUMI YUKIE, JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE , B. 1945

    ŌSUMI YUKIE

    JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE , B. 1945
    Osumi Yukie was designated a Living National Treasure in 2015, and is the first female artist to receive this honor in her field. She specializes in tankin, or hammered vessels and applies the traditional technique of nunomezōgan to the decorative and functional pieces that she creates. This process involves hammering metal-leaf or wire into a fine, mesh-like grid incised into the surface of the metal. Through her designs of wind, waves, clouds and streams, Osumi creates a formless and flowing affinity with nature.
  • MUROSE KAZUMI, JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1950

    MUROSE KAZUMI

    JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1950

    Murose learned urushi in earnest at the Tokyo University of the Arts, and studied under the urushi master and Living National Treasure Matsuda Gonroku (1896-1986). Gonroku’s principle student, Taguchi Yoshikuni (1923-1998), was also Murose’s mentor. Under their tutelage, Murose learned as a craftsman about the rich history and techniques of urushi.

  • SAKO RYUHEI, JAPANESE, B. 1976 SAKO RYUHEI, JAPANESE, B. 1976 SAKO RYUHEI, JAPANESE, B. 1976 SAKO RYUHEI, JAPANESE, B. 1976 SAKO RYUHEI, JAPANESE, B. 1976 SAKO RYUHEI, JAPANESE, B. 1976 SAKO RYUHEI, JAPANESE, B. 1976

    SAKO RYUHEI

    JAPANESE, B. 1976

    Sako Ryuhei (b. 1976), born in Okayama Prefecture, graduated from Hiroshima City University in the Department of Design and Applied Arts in 1999, and then earned his master's degree in 2002 from the same institution. Sako Ryuhei creates pieces using Mokume-gane, a Japanese metal technique dating back to the 17th century. First, very thin different colored alloyed metal sheets are layered and bonded. Then the layers are cut into, or drilled, and reworked. Achieving a successful lamination takes a very skilled artist, and although his work is based on research and experimentation using this tradition process, he manages to create very contemporary pieces. In 2004, he became a member of the Nihon Kōgeikai (Japanese Handcrafts Association) and in 2013, during his first exhibition outside Japan, the Victoria and Albert Museum purchased one of his pieces for their public collection.

  • OTSUKI MASAKO, JAPANESE , B. 1943 OTSUKI MASAKO, JAPANESE , B. 1943

    OTSUKI MASAKO

    JAPANESE , B. 1943

    Influenced by her studies at Tama University’s Department of Design, Ōtsuki Masako incorporates many aspects of design into her metalwork pieces. She has stated that in artwork, highly developed techniques should meet refined designs to appeal to audiences. She applies the hatsuri shave and carve technique, carving distinctive and fine-angled lines into base metals using chisels. This technique gives the work a unique three-dimensional effect with depth and shadow. Despite the varying degrees of solubility, Ōtsuki expertly manipulates the gold, silver, copper and copper-silver alloy, lending metal—a cold medium, a feeling of warmth and life.

  • OSHIYAMA MOTOKO , JAPANESE, B. 1958 OSHIYAMA MOTOKO , JAPANESE, B. 1958 OSHIYAMA MOTOKO , JAPANESE, B. 1958 OSHIYAMA MOTOKO , JAPANESE, B. 1958

    OSHIYAMA MOTOKO

    JAPANESE, B. 1958

    Oshiyama Motoko is a masterful female artist who is inspired by nature and natural phenomena. Fascinated by the challenges and beauty of metalworking, she seeks to seamlessly incorporate her medium’s idiosyncrasies into her work instead of using force. She creates swirling patterns through her technique of welding together two or more metals such as silver and shakudō (a mixture of gold and copper). Oshiyama gives distinction to her works with her modern sense of design, focusing on geometric and abstract patterns.

  • NAKAGAWA MAMORU, JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURES, B. 1947

    NAKAGAWA MAMORU

    JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURES, B. 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 zōgantechnique 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.

  • KATSURA MORIHITO, JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1944 KATSURA MORIHITO, JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1944

    KATSURA MORIHITO

    JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1944

    Katsura Morihito hails from a long line of metalwork artists dating back to the Edo period in the 1600s in Tokyo. Named after his family, The Katsura School became renowned for its fashionable metal accessories including obi sash clips and ornately decorated tobacco cases. Katsura is recognized for his remarkable skills in inlaying and decorative painting along with his lifelong commitment to Edo metal sculptures.

  • MIYATA RYOHEI , B. 1945

    MIYATA RYOHEI

    B. 1945

    Miyata has participated in both domestic and international exhibitions, frequently featuring his signature motif of dolphins in his series “Springen.” After serving as the President of the Tokyo University of the Arts for a decade, he was appointed Chairman of the Ministry of Education’s Culture Council and Commissioner for Cultural Affairs. He also served as chairperson of the Tokyo 2020 Emblems Selection Committee launched by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee. His work will also included in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2020.

  • TAGUCHI TOSHICHIKA, JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1940

    TAGUCHI TOSHICHIKA

    JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1940

    Born in Tokyo in 1940, Taguchi trained as a metalsmith under his father after majoring in metalwork at Tokyo Metropolitan Kogei High School. Taguchi is known for the compositional simplicity of his works, as he uses complex lines that provide the viewer with a diverse range of perspectives from different angles. He utilizes a material known as shibuichi, a metal-alloy comprised of silver and copper that is unique to Japan. During the process of making the work, the metal shrinks and expands to the artist’s desired shape by using shibori and nobashi techniques. During this process, Taguchi hammers the metal with patience and endurance causing the “hammer prints” that are characteristic to Taguchi’s work.

  • OKUYAMA HOSEKI, JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1937

    OKUYAMA HOSEKI

    JAPANESE, LIVING NATIONAL TREASURE, B. 1937

    Designated a Living National Treasure for tankin metalwork in 1995Okuyama has worked as a silversmith since leaving his home in Shinjo, Yamagata Prefecture.  He excels in the kiribame method, hammering intricate designs onto metal surfaces, then extracting the design and fitting it onto the object.  This process is well suited for larger patterns, while the uchikomi technique is more suitable for delicate designs. Both methods allow the artist to create skillful designs of nature. In the 1990s, Okuyama developed a unique style of modern and colorful designs by applying damascening techniques to his metal pieces to incorporate expressive motifs inspired by nature. The large piece of work that Okuyama donated to Ise Shrine displays more than 12,000 cherry blossom petals which were hammered on the surface using the uchikomi method.

  • HATA SHUNSAI III, JAPANESE, B. 1976

    HATA SHUNSAI III

    JAPANESE, B. 1976

    Born in 1976, Hata Shunsai III is a metal artist whose family has been rooted in Kanaya-machi for generations. Kanaya-machi is a district in Takaoka, a city in Toyama prefecture, which is steeped in history. This area of Japan has been well known for centuries for its exceptional metal ware crafts. To this day, some of the best metal artists including Living National Treasures, hail from this area. Hata has carried on his family’s tradition of making teakettles, learning the craft by observing his father at work since his youth.

  • IEDE TAKAHIRO, JAPANESE, B. 1962 IEDE TAKAHIRO, JAPANESE, B. 1962

    IEDE TAKAHIRO

    JAPANESE, B. 1962

    Born in Fukui Prefecture in 1962, Iede Takahiro is one of Japan’s leading Contemporary metal artists due to his innovative metal-weaving techniques. Iede draws inspiration from traditional Japanese bamboo basketry and weaves together colorful strips of rigid metals. He first heats and hammers each strip, then crimps it along its length to conform them, and painstakingly weaves the strips together starting at the center. In 2016, Iede received the Medal of Purple Ribbon for Artistic Achievement from the Japanese government.

  • TANAKA TERUKAZU, B. 1945 TANAKA TERUKAZU, B. 1945

    TANAKA TERUKAZU

    B. 1945

    Born in the Taninaka district of Tokyo, Tanaka Terukazu graduated from the Metal Crafts Department of Tokyo Metropolitan Crafts High School in 1964. The son of a metalsmith, Tanaka trained with his father and at the Tokyo Metropolitan Crafts High School. Tanaka is known for his mastery of fusing gold, silver, and copper alloys in his signature forms and luminous surfaces. In his work, “AKENO (Field of Dawn)” Tanaka joined sheets of blue-black shakudo (copper with 3 percent gold) to either end of a central sheet of copper to form the lid and base of the box. He then hammered the metal patchwork over iron anvils to raise the curved forms. Look closely at the gleaming shakudo surfaces to see minute facets left by his hammer strokes. In 2018, Tanaka was selected as the second artist to be selected for The Freer | Sackler Residency in Japanese Metalwork Design after Living National Treasure artist, Osumi Yukie was selected to be the first recipient of this residency at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.

  • HAGINO NORIKO, JAPANESE, B. 1949 HAGINO NORIKO, JAPANESE, B. 1949 HAGINO NORIKO, JAPANESE, B. 1949

    HAGINO NORIKO

    JAPANESE, B. 1949

    Hagino Noriko uses a technique metal-forging and heat-welding technique known as  hagiawase, a method she learned from Living National Treasure Sekiya Shirō (1907-1994). After graduating from Musashino Art Junior College, Hagino apprenticed for Sekiya Shirō. From the inception of her design to the arduous process of hammering metal, Hagino takes almost six months to complete each project. She uses the natural hues of the metals as colors to create fluid patterns on her work, silver becoming white, copper becoming red, and an alloy of a mix of gold and copper becoming gold.

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