the fine art society asian art in London 2013 Four Living National Treasures of Japan Jun Isezaki Kunihiko Moriguchi Kazumi Murose Noboru Fujinuma

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1 the fine art society asian art in London 2013 Four Living National Treasures of Japan Jun Isezaki Kunihiko Moriguchi Kazumi Murose Noboru Fujinuma

asian art in london 2013 THE FINE ART SOCIETY Dealers since 1876 in association with Mariko Whiteway 31 October to 21 November 2013 148 New

2 asian art in london 2013 THE FINE ART SOCIETY Dealers since 1876 in association with Mariko Whiteway 31 October to 21 November New Bond Street London W1S 2JT +44 (0) Asian Art in London Officially supported by The Embassy of Japan

3 Four Living National Treasures of Japan The Fine Art Society in association with Mariko Whiteway Jun Isezaki Kunihiko Moriguchi Kazumi Murose Noboru Fujinuma

4 Jun Isezaki vase Bizen ceramic 38.5 x 33 x 33 cm illustrated opposite title page Noboru Fujinuma open-work flower basket Bamboo 22 x 43 x 43 cm illustrated below Dimensions are height x width x depth The Fine Art Society is proud to present the latest in a series of homages to the arts of Japan: a series stretching back to the 1880s, as you will read in Rupert Faulkner s fascinating and informative introduction. The most recent in this series was in 1992 with Opening the Window: British Artists in Meiji Japan, with an introduction by the former British Ambassador to Japan and Chairman of the Japan Society, Sir Hugh Cortazzi. This is also the latest exhibition in partnership with Michael, and now Mariko, Whiteway; a series of co-operative ventures that commenced in 1972 with the appropriately titled The Aesthetic Movement and the Cult of Japan an exhibition that charted the influence of Japan on British arts and architecture in the 1860s and 1870s. We are also delighted to have the support of the Embassy of Japan with this venture, and it is our first exhibition under the excellent umbrella of Asian Art in London. And it is a remarkable coincidence that 2013 happens to be the 400th anniversary of the first official contact between our two nations; as the British Association for Japanese Studies so ably recounts: in September 1613, King James I gave the Shogun a precious goblet. He gave his father, the all-powerful former Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, a telescope the first ever known outside Europe. The items, with letters of friendship, were conveyed by the newly formed East India Company. The Japanese responded with two suits of armour, ten sumptuous paintings and permission for the British to reside and trade in Japan for ever. It could be said that we are the beneficiaries of this friendship; but without all her infectious enthusiasm, and the hard work of Mariko Whiteway, this exhibition might have been still-born. So we are delighted that these four wonderful artists, great men in their own land, are allowing us to exhibit their work nearly 6000 miles from home. And I know that Marcus Huish, my predecessor, would have been very proud of a wonderful, continuing tradition. Patrick Bourne Managing Director, The Fine Art Society

Introduction This exhibition of the work of four of Japan s Living National Treasures is one of the most ambitious of its kind to have been held in Britain for many years.

5 Introduction This exhibition of the work of four of Japan s Living National Treasures is one of the most ambitious of its kind to have been held in Britain for many years. We know about the achievements of these and other distinguished makers through exhibitions such as Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan (British Museum, 2007) and Japanese Studio Crafts: Tradition and the Avant-Garde (V&A, 1995). Never, though and this is not to disparage the representation of high-end Japanese crafts at events such as the Craft Council s annual COLLECT has there been an occasion when so many works by four such eminent makers have been available to London s collecting public. At the same time as being in keeping with the scrupulous standards for which The Fine Art Society has long been respected, there is a particular appropriateness in the FAS s holding of this exhibition, for Marcus Huish, the founding Managing Director of The Society, was an ardent Japanophile who between 1880 and 1909 organised an important series of exhibitions on different aspects of Japanese art. He was, furthermore, an extensive contributor to the activities of the Japan Society and in 1888 published a wide-ranging volume entitled Japan and its Art. Living National Treasure, for which the equivalent in this country would be Grade 1 Listed Person, is the popular term for Important Intangible Cultural Property, an individual designated by the Japanese government for his or her contribution to the transmission of craft (and also theatrical and musical) practices inherited from the past. The system was established in the course of the early 1950s when, in the aftermath of the Second World War, there were pressing concerns about the erosion of traditional Japanese culture. Following the initial identification

6 of traditions that were felt to be worthy of preservation and in danger of being lost, the net was cast wider to include practices that were not necessarily in danger of extinction but were regarded as important for historical or artistic reasons. The appointment of individuals as living manifestations of these traditions took place in Designations continue to be made to this day, with one of the key events for the showing of works by Living National Treasures and makers working in comparable modes being the annual Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition. Tradition in the context of this system is, most importantly, understood as an active process of continuity and change. The goal is not imitation of historical precursors but the exploration of inherited styles and methods of production through the making of objects that belong unequivocally to the present and are imbued with a strong sense of artistic creativity. The categorisation used for the appointment of Living National Treasures is reflected in the structure of the Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition, which is divided into seven sections: ceramics, textiles, lacquer, metal, wood and bamboo, dolls, and a catch-all section for other disciplines such as cloisonné, glass and inkstone carving. In the current exhibition we have exemplars of ceramics, textiles, lacquer and bamboo. Isezaki Jun is a master of the distinctive clay from the Bizen area and the firing techniques used to conjure up the rich colours and textures for which Bizen ceramics have been admired since Japan s medieval period. Some of his pieces are in classical vessel forms while others are in powerfully sculpted shapes reminiscent of cast engine blocks and similarly monolithic products of modern industry. Moriguchi Kunihiko is also firmly rooted in the present. He uses the techniques of yūzen dyeing, which were originally pioneered in Kyoto in the seventeenth century, in the realisation of abstract designs derived through various types of mathematical transformation. While this is not immediately apparent from static displays of his kimono, he is not only interested in the two-dimensional aspect of his designs but also in how, when his kimono are worn, their patterns shift and change as they move through space. The meticulousness of Moriguchi s dyeing skills is echoed in the maki-e ( sprinkled picture ) lacquerwork of Murose Kazumi. His designs range widely from the classicising through the stylised representation of nature to the purely abstract. Every piece is the product of months of labour carried out with a degree of precision that disallows even the slightest of technical errors. In contrast to Moriguchi s yūzen dyeing and Murose s maki-e lacquerwork, Fujinuma Noboru s bamboo creations have a visceral quality more akin to Isezaki s ceramics. If the weaving varies from formal through semi-formal to informal, thereby reflecting the concepts of shin-gyō-sō that underlie many traditional Japanese cultural forms and practices, the innate materiality of the bamboo is always allowed to express itself with unfettered immediacy. RUPERT FAULKNER Senior Curator, Asian Department The Victoria & Albert Museum, London

He has brought back the traditional design of kiln used in the middle ages a kiln that is dug into a hillside like a tunnel.

7 Jun Isezaki Jun Isezaki born in 1936 was designated as a living national treasure for work with Bizen pottery in 2004, only the fifth in this category. Although his craft is traditional he works in a very modern idiom. He has brought back the traditional design of kiln used in the middle ages a kiln that is dug into a hillside like a tunnel. In contrast to the more common climbing kiln, built on the top of the slope, this makes it possible to produce a large amount of pottery with a consistent quality.

8 Jun Isezaki tall rectangular vase Bizen ceramic 56.5 x 30.4 x 21.2 cm Jun Isezaki tall rectangular vase Bizen ceramic 58.5 x 31 x 19 cm

9 Jun Isezaki broad rectangular vase Bizen ceramic 47.2 x 45.7 x 23.7 cm Jun Isezaki large sculpted dish Bizen ceramic 12.5 x 44 x 43.3 cm

10 Jun Isezaki clay bird I Bizen ceramic 17.5 x 14 x 10 cm Jun Isezaki clay bird II Bizen ceramic 19.7 x 13.9 x 10.2 cm

11 Jun Isezaki tall footed vase I Bizen ceramic 53.6 x 26.1 x 18.6 cm Jun Isezaki tall footed vase II Bizen ceramic 51 x 18.2 x 21.2 cm

12 Jun Isezaki large multi-faced vase Bizen ceramic 38.6 x 23 x 18 cm Jun Isezaki bird on gourd Bizen ceramic 33.3 x 19.5 x 14.8 cm

Kunihiko Moriguchi Kunihiko Moriguchi born in 1941 was designated a living national treasure in 2007. Moriguchi is a Yuzen textile artist.

13 Kunihiko Moriguchi Kunihiko Moriguchi born in 1941 was designated a living national treasure in Moriguchi is a Yuzen textile artist. Yuzen is a fabric dyeing technique dating back to the 17th century. Kunihiko Moriguchi is preserving a skill handed down to him by his late father, Kako Moriguchi, a celebrated kimono painter and living national treasure before him. Moriguchi spent three years at Paris s École des Arts Décoratifs in the 1980s. and has shown his kimonos at the annual Exhibition of Japanese Traditional Art Crafts since 1976, and in Paris since 1986.

14 Kunihiko Moriguchi kimono: beyond Yuzen dyed silk 180 x 140 cm

15 Kunihiko Moriguchi Kunihiko Moriguchi the big bang I Yuzen dyed silk 33 x 33 cm the big bang II Yuzen dyed silk 33 x 33 cm the big bang III Yuzen dyed silk 33 x 33 cm the big bang IV Yuzen dyed silk 33 x 33 cm

16 Kunihiko Moriguchi Kunihiko Moriguchi the big bang V Yuzen dyed silk 33 x 33 cm the big bang VI Yuzen dyed silk 33 x 33 cm the big bang VII Yuzen dyed silk 33 x 33 cm the big bang VIII Yuzen dyed silk 33 x 33 cm

Kazumi Murose Kazumi Murose born in 1950 was nominated a Living National Treasure in 2008. Murose graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts and Music at Tokyo University of the Arts.

17 Kazumi Murose Kazumi Murose born in 1950 was nominated a Living National Treasure in Murose graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts and Music at Tokyo University of the Arts. A Makie Urushi lacquer artist, Murose has exhibited in numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad, including at the British Museum in 2002 in an exhibition titled The Culture of Lacquer: Japanese Beauty Inherited.

18 Kazumi Murose box and cover Makie Urushi lacquer 9 x 24 x 24 cm Kazumi Murose chessboard Makie Urushi lacquer 6 x 44.8 x 44.8 cm

19 Kazumi Murose wine cooler Makie Urushi lacquer 21.5 x 14.5 x 14.5 cm Kazumi Murose three-tier box Makie Urushi lacquer 21.5 x 21.5 x 21.5 cm

20 Kazumi Murose small box and cover Makie Urushi lacquer 2.2 x 7.4 x 7.4 cm Kazumi Murose box and cover Makie Urushi lacquer 17.2 x 44 x 28.1 cm

21 Kazumi Murose SMALL box Makie Urushi lacquer 11.2 x 13 x 13 cm Kazumi Murose incense container Makie Urushi lacquer 14 x 11.3 x 11.3 cm

Noboru Fujinuma Noboru Fujinuma born in 1945 was designated a living national treasure in 2012. Fujinuma is a bamboo artist, a chance trip to Paris, in 1972 changed his life.

22 Noboru Fujinuma Noboru Fujinuma born in 1945 was designated a living national treasure in Fujinuma is a bamboo artist, a chance trip to Paris, in 1972 changed his life. He returned home anxious to study and revive traditional Japanese craft, choosing the art of bamboo. After serving an apprenticeship with Yagisawa Keizo, Fujinuma started to innovate. In 1992, at the 39th Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, his work received the winning Tokyo Governor s Prize and was purchased by the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

23 Noboru Fujinuma ikebana basket I Bamboo 54 x 19 x 19 cm Noboru Fujinuma ikebana basket I Bamboo 44 x 17 x 17 cm

24 Noboru Fujinuma cylindrical vase I Bamboo 54 x 9 x 9 cm Noboru Fujinuma cylindrical vase II Bamboo 49 x 9 x 9 cm

25 Noboru Fujinuma flower basket I Bamboo 27 x 22 x 22 cm Noboru Fujinuma flower basket II Bamboo 23 x 34 x 36 cm

Treasures of Japan held at 148 New Bond Street, London W1, from 31 October to 21 November 2013 Introduction Rupert Faulkner 2013 Catalogue The Fine Art

26 Noboru Fujinuma large basket Bamboo 28 x 50 x 50 cm plaited basket Bamboo 22.5 x 37 x 34 cm illustrated on back cover Published by The Fine Art Society, in association with Mariko Whiteway, for the exhibition Four Living National Treasures of Japan held at 148 New Bond Street, London W1, from 31 October to 21 November 2013 Introduction Rupert Faulkner 2013 Catalogue The Fine Art Society 2013 ISBN Designed and typeset in Minion by Dalrymple Printed in Belgium by Deckers Snoeck THE FINE ART SOCIETY Dealers since New Bond Street London W1S 2JT +44 (0) art@faslondon.com

27 The Fine Art Society in association with Mariko Whiteway

JUN TAKEGOSHI CONTEMPORARY KUTANI WARE

JUN TAKEGOSHI CONTEMPORARY KUTANI WARE THE FINE ART SOCIETY the fine art society JUN TAKEGOSHI CONTEMPORARY KUTANI WARE 3 august - 1 september 2017 THE FINE ART SOCIETY 148 new bond street london w1s 2jt