Line and Surface: VI

An accomplished practitioner of the ancient Japanese art of Urushi lacquering, Igawa Takeshi has a PhD in lacquer arts from the Kyoto University of Arts and currently lectures in Kyushu. His work is admired throughout Asia and beyond. This elegant interpretation of an ancient art form examines the enduring relationship between form, texture, and function. Sourced from the sap of the Urushi tree, the lacquer requires a secondary material to acquire form. Applied to high-quality polyurethane, the traditional technique is presented without the customary Makie decorations. The pared-back exposition of the arduous Urushi technique becomes the essence of an object that gleams with timeless beauty.