Event Report "Gallery Talk by Aiko Ishimoto"

This is the first exhibition on lacquer in the museum. So I started with the basic story of lacquer.
Urushi is a sap from a Urushi tree. It is a natural material that is very good as a paint and adhesive. It has been used for a long time in Japan since the Jomon period.
Among the urushi trees widely distributed in Southeast Asia, the sap found in Japan and China is mainly composed of urushiol, and lacquer from Japan boasts high quality as paints. However, it seems that domestic lacquer is currently only 5% of the distribution volume, and most of it is made from Chinese lacquer.
The collection of lacquer is carried out from the end of May to the beginning of October, when the growth is good. It is collected with tools of unique shapes such as Kama, Kanna, and Herra. Only about 200g can be collected from a single urushi tree.

Next, I would like to talk about the production process and tools.
Mr. Ishimoto's "Fushi lacquer skin technique" basically uses traditional skin tools. He explained the tools and materials that are actually used, such as spatula made from various materials, shinkin swords, and lacquer brushes made from women's hair.

Many of the lacquer panel works are based on the scenery of Kiso.

Mr. Ishimoto will answer your questions carefully one by one. The work shows the precision and delicateness, but it is usually very friendly.

"Kokyoshunki" is over 1 meter tall. This is a work in which the petals of the cherry blossoms finely colored with sunk are projected on a glossy lacquer mirror surface, and the petals are scattered beautifully. It seems that this was produced in a year, but this work led to the desire to incorporate color into lacquer.
The traditional sunk gold applied to black lacquer is shining in old spaces such as candles and lights over shoji door, but it is not three-dimensional when placed in a bright room of modern times. I want to make it easier to incorporate the sunk into modern life ... From such a thought, he devised a technique of "Fushi lacquer sink" that incorporates plenty of colors.

Decorators made of Fushi lacquered gold. The base is made of wood, but it feels like a metalwork.

The 15cm square peasant is popular as a work that can be easily displayed in ordinary houses. But at first, I started making it as a partial test piece before making a big piece. This work was born through trial and error, how many colors should be painted and how much should be carved.