NUNO – Contemporary textile poetics
The Japanese textile universe, with its richness and variety of fabrics and prints, is the theme of the exhibition ‘NUNO – Contemporary textile poetics.’
Textile pieces and compositions being showcased in the exhibition space at Japan House São Paulo with the ‘NUNO – Contemporary textile poetics’ exhibit. (2019-08-19/2019-10-17) by Japan House São PauloJAPAN HOUSE São Paulo
The exhibition highlights pieces created by Japanese designer Reiko Sudo, from the brand NUNO - a Japanese word that means fabric - which develops aesthetic lines, materials and techniques, often reinterpreting Japan’s textile tradition for the contemporary world.
Curators:
In the exhibition, curated by Adélia Borges, design critic, and historian; and Mayumi Ito, consultant, and founder of the Amaria community project, 35 different fabrics are exhibited made from raw materials ranging from bashofu (banana fiber produced in Okinawa, Japan), to newspaper pages, including washi (Japanese paper), copper, plastic, rubber, feathers, and traditional materials such as cotton, silk, polyester, wool, and felt.
Textile production
The exhibition highlights NUNO’s unique contribution to contemporary world design with a selection of fabrics that highlight the diversity of techniques, textures, materials, and colors, including handmade, semi-industrial, and industrial forms of production.
In ‘NUNO – Contemporary textile poetics,’ part of the space is turned into a showcase with a stream of koinoboris, a stylized carp typical of Japan, symbols of health and longevity, made with different fabrics.
The movement of the fabric. The exhibition also features a series of samples the audience can handle - such as Tanabata (2004), origami-shaped polyester fabric that creates a sense of movement, or Kibiso Futsu Crisscross (2008),
which reuses fibers from the silk cocoon, previously discarded for being difficult to handle.
Ancestral techniques and contemporary technologies
Adélia Borges and Mayumi Ito underscore NUNO’s important concern to keep small Japanese weaving mills active and, thus, value these ancient handmade techniques by reviving these processes with new materials and technologies.
To the exhibition curators: “Reiko Sudo also proposes a new look at beauty, re-signifying, for example, the rust process that is used in dyeing fabrics.”
Piece created by the artist Reiko Sudo. (2019-08-19/2019-10-17) by Japan House São PauloJAPAN HOUSE São Paulo
With items in the collection of major international museums, such as MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), and Victoria & Albert (London), designer Reiko Sudo sews on the threshold between absolute manual and extreme high-tech
"The work Reiko Sudo does ahead of NUNO is amazing and admirable. After more than 30 years of the founding of the brand, Reiko continues her research with unique creativity contributing to international design with her innovations, even while working under the premise of traditional techniques," says Japan House São Paulo Cultural Director Natasha Barzaghi Geenen.
About NUNO:
Founded in Tokyo, in 1984, NUNO is considered one of the finest textile research laboratories today with its ongoing proposal to unite materials, techniques, and processes to produce unique fabrics in a genuine experimentation center.
Japan House São Paulo
Paulista Avenue, 52
Bela Vista – São Paulo/SP
Phone: +55 11 3090-8900
