The Eternal Beauty of Metal

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

Designated a Living National Treasure for tankin metalwork in 1995, Okuyama 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.

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.

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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