Expressions of Urushi

Opening reception in the presence of the artists： October 3 (Sat) 4:00pm – 6:00pm Galerie Taménaga is pleased to announce “Expressions of Urushi,” an exhibition focusing on the material and techniques of urushi (Japanese lacquer), running from Saturday, October 3 to Sunday, November 1, 2026. This exhibition will bring together works by six artists—Shingo Muramoto, Ichizo Ino, Wei Nan, Haruka Sotome, Mine Tanigawa, and Shoko Taruma—who possess both rich artistry and extraordinary technical skill. In this exhibition, visitors will encounter works in which each artist pursues new artistic expressions built upon a deep understanding of inherited urushi techniques and materials. All six participating artists have cultivated highly advanced skills through years of refining and honing their craft. By earnestly engaging with urushi and other materials, drawing out their unique characteristics and appeal, and combining them with unrestrained imagination and rich sensibilities, they create highly original forms and open up new possibilities in art. Shingo Muramoto explores the coexistence and symbiosis between nature and humanity through his glossy and airy forms crafted from bamboo and urushi. Wei Nan uses leather as a medium, employing urushi to capture and preserve beautiful, spontaneously generated curved surfaces. Haruka Sotome discovers shared properties between urushi and lipstick, creating works that feature lips as their central motif. Shoko Taruma merges the traditional Japanese aesthetic of in’ei (shadows) with free, liquid-like forms, expressing them as contemporary sculpture. Furthermore, exhibiting at Galerie Taménaga for the first time, Ichizo Ino utilizes wood carving and urushi to shape the soft warmth found in familiar motifs such as children and cats. Also making her debut at the gallery, Mine Tanigawa expresses both ephemerality and permanence by layering urushi onto the fleeting forms born from her drawings. These up-and-coming artists, who carry the future of the medium on their shoulders, are breathing new life into Japan’s proud traditional techniques. We cordially invite you to take this opportunity to view the numerous ambitious works presented by these six exceptional artists.