Exhibition Overview
Japanese Lacquerware by Yuko Asanuma
For generations, lacquerware has been an essential element in the Japanese way of life to such an extent that in some countries, the name for lacquerware utensils is “Japan.”
This lacquerware includes simple wooden bowls, tea utensils such as natsume, elaborately patterned lunch boxes, hair combs, and hairpins, to name but a few. Furthermore, the word shikkoku (the color of black lacquerware) evokes a clear and deeply penetrating beauty in the minds of Japanese people.
However, many of the items that are called “lacquerware utensils” today are imitations which are made to look like lacquerware through the use of chemical paints, and this has led to a steady disappearance of genuine lacquerware products which are made using tree sap.
Most of Asanuma’s works feature pictures which take their inspiration from children’s fairy tales and picture books. She continue to create work on these familiar themes in the hope of achieving greater affinity with both children and adults alike.
Gallery
About the Artist
Yuko Asanuma
Profile
Born in Hokkaido
Graduated Bunka-Gakuin, Faculty of Art
Studied under Junkan Kinoshita and Urara Makino
Member of Japan Cultural Property Urushi Association
Main Group Exhibitions
International Arts Exchange Exhibition (Grand Prix, 1994)
Belgium Arts Exhibition Prize (Royal Academy of Fine Arts, 1996)
France Art Exhibition Prize (Palace of the Kings of Majorca, 1997)
Spain Art Exhibition Prize (Tharrats Museum, 1998)
International Women’s Modern Art Exhibition (Salon d’Automne, 1998)
Modern Picture for Children Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, 1998, 2003)
Beauty of Urushi (Meiji shrine Treasury Art Annex, 1999-2000)
Guide for Happiness of Hairpins (Lalique Museum Hakone, 2007)
Main Individual Exhibitions
Tokyo American Club (1993)
Sapporo Gallery (1996)
Ark Café Gallery (Ichikawa, 2000, 2006)
St Luke’s Gallery (2006-2009 St Luke’s International Hospital)
Sawanoi Kushi-Kanzashi Museum (2008, 2010, 2012)
Lalique Museum Hakone (2012)