Permanent Collection 3rd term 2023

　
　Takeshi Kawashima is a contemporary artist from Kagawa Prefecture. It was in 1963 that he took a leap of faith in search of a new environment and flew to New York where modern art was causing a whirlwind. And ever since, for 53 years, he has continued to fascinate people both in Japan and abroad from his base in New York, receiving high acclaim holding solo exhibitions at the Waddell Gallery and having his work included into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, N, Y, further holding solo exhibitions at our museum as well as other museums and galleries across Japan. From the Red and Black series depicted like a coat of arms to the latest Space series, even though his style and materials have changed over time, his theme has consistently been based on the expression of interest in humanity and celebration of life. In 2016, Kawashima moved his base to Takamatsu, his hometown where he opened his studio and museum “Takeshi Kawashima Art Factory” overlooking the Seto Inland Sea and continues to work tirelessly.

　This exhibition commemorates the 35th anniversary of the Takamatsu Art Museum and at the same time traces the locus of Kawashima's work over the past 60 years since he made his way to the United States. In addition to the exhibition rooms, a wide variety of his works will be on display in the entrance hall and Branch Gallery (in the Marugamemachi shopping street in Takamatsu). Along with Kawashima’s representative works such as N.Y.20 (1965, Takamatsu Art Museum) and Cosmic Ring VIII (2017-2019, Artsit Collection), the exhibition also features posters for the Takamatsu International Piano Competition which he created as well as photographs and production materials of his public art in various facilities in Takamatsu City. Prints and small works donated this March will also be unveiled. Please enjoy Kawashima’s admiration for humanity that exudes from his works.

Cooperation：Takeshi Kawashima Art Factory

Image：《N.Y.20》1965年、Takamatsu Art Museum

　Color of Japanese lacquer was originally limited to just five colors: vermilion, black, yellow, green, and brown made from natural mineral pigments. Ever since Sanuki lacquerware art was first produced, it has gone through a process of trial and error in terms of technique, such as layering and carving in addition to transformations in color expressions through the introduction of new pigments. This exhibition features 28 works by 9 artists on the theme of the evolution of color expressions in Sanuki lacquer art, from Zokoku Tamakaji, the progenitor of Sanukilacquerware art, to Joshin Isoi and Kodo Otomaru, and the development of lacquer and pigments thanks to advances in chemical engineering.

Zokoku produced many works with color schemes that varied greatly in brightness and saturation, as seen in Seal Case. Keido Ishii, the creator of Incense case, koka-ryokuyo, inherited the “Koka-Ryokuyo” technique from Zokoku, and expanded the range of expressions through his advanced carving skills. A major turning point for Sanuki lacquerware art with regards to lacquer and pigment came with innovations in the application of white lacquer and lake pigments introduced by Joshin and Kodo. In 1929, when a method for manufacturing white lacquer using titanium dioxide was invented, lake pigment, which can tint white lacquer into various colors made it possible to express with pastel colors such as pink, sky blue, and mauve, as well as vivid multi-colored lacquer. Around this time, Joshin was one of the first to create expressions using white lacquer by applying a gradation of white to purple on his Vase with taro design, kanshitsu. Furthermore, Kodo also effectively used white lacquer to create depth in his Cosmetic box with moon-flower design, choshitsu.

Please enjoy the rich expressions of Sanuki lacquerware art, which pioneered a wide range of colors along with technological innovation of materials and pigments.

Image：Joshin Isoi《Vase with taro design，kansitsu》1936,photo by Akira Takahashi