Meiji-era craftsmanship inherent in contemporary art highlighted in Gifu

Craft artists of the Meiji era (1868-1912) are said to have used chozetsu giko (transcendental techniques) in their creation of ceramics, metalworks, wood carvings, cloisonne (shippo) ware, maki-e lacquerware and other types of handicraft. The incredible techniques, inexorably, declined with the Westernization of Japan. The artists of today, however, have developed their own skill set inspired and encouraged by what the pioneers of modern Japanese craft had achieved.

The exhibition now running at the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu (Tajimi, Gifu Pref.) is one presentation of what contemporary artists have accomplished thus far with their own “transcendental” skills as they seek a new area of representation.

In the Genes, Taking Marvelous Meiji Craftsmanship into the Future

Feb 11 (Sat) – Apr 9 (Sun), 2023

Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu
(Tajimi, Gifu Pref.)

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“In the Genes, Taking Marvelous Meiji Craftsmanship into the Future,” the ongoing special exhibition at the said museum features craftwork of 17 artists among the vanguard of contemporary Japanese craft art. Also on display are Meiji-era craftwork of artistic and historical value, a great number of which was collected by Masayuki Murata, the director of the Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum in Kyoto.

The “transcendental techniques” in today’s craft art can be found, for instance, in Fukuda Toru’s amazing woodwork “Puddling” (2022). The lifelike butterflies were made by fitting small pieces of wood, instead of carving out the figures. The puddles were burnished after chiseling away the platform. Inazaki Eriko’s “Euphoria” (2023) does not look like anything but a beautiful piece of lace. In fact, it is made of porcelain.

Other works now on display: