SIMON PILLING

20th ANNIVERSARY: the magic of lacquer.

For 20 years I have studied and exhibited artworks produced using Japanese lacquer, urushi. Over that time I have met dedicated artists who are working today, and found modern and contemporary pieces, celebrating artistic continuity in this quintessential Japanese artform.

Urushi’s production processes are so time-consuming and demanding that it can be hard to appreciate the amount of work that goes into producing a single piece of fine lacquer. In my exhibition can be seen art that exemplifies the best of that achievement. Most familiar is perhaps work in the gold makie technique – creating designs through the sprinkling and polishing of metallic powders on to a lacquer ground. Other works complement that technique through the addition of exquisite shell inlays, while, for some artists, the pieces are created through the carving of lacquer. Finally, we see lacquer used as ‘trompe-l’oeil’, creating works that play with our senses in the imitation of other materials such as metal and leather.

I invite you to join me in the admiration of these amazing artworks.