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