“ONKO CHISHIN”

11 September - 22 October 2023
  • Murose Kazumi (b. 1950), Living National Treasure, Nagatebako (Rectangular Document Box) titled Chidō (Telluric Motion), 2022.

  • ONKO CHISHIN: Murose Kazumi’s work draws on a dictum laid down by Chinese philosopher Confucius more than 2,200 years ago: “If you cherish tradition and use it to explore new ideas, you can be considered a master.”
     
  • Named a “Living National Treasure” in 2008, Murose Kazumi is one of Japan’s leading exponents of urushi (lacquer), an art and craft tradition dating back nearly ten millennia. He is admired above all for his mastery of maki-e and raden, two time-honored techniques that he often uses in combination.


  • While deeply rooted in tradition, Murose constantly explores fresh ways of expressing the beauty of urushi and shell. Now in...
    While deeply rooted in tradition, Murose constantly explores fresh ways of expressing the beauty of urushi and shell. Now in his eighth decade, he has recently launched a new series entitled Chidō (Telluric Motion) that elevates his practice to a new conceptual level, suggesting in miniature the gigantic swirling movements of our planet as it makes its way through the cosmos.
  • In maki-e, designs are created by scattering powdered gold, silver, and other precious materials on to urushi, the refined sap...
    In maki-e, designs are created by scattering powdered gold, silver, and other precious materials on to urushi, the refined sap of the lacquer tree, then allowing the urushi to set before applying further layers, each of them painstakingly polished. Murose also uses raden—a style of inlay common to lacquer art across East Asia—in a distinctively bold yet refined manner using the inner lining of abalone and other shells.

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