The annually held Taiwan × Japan Urushi Exchange Exhibition will take place from July 23 through Aug. 3 this year at the FEI Art Museum Yokohama in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture, with the Taiwanese collection at this show choosing "My Style" as its 2019 theme.
This theme was picked with the expectation that Taiwanese artisans could re-define the current trends for Taiwan's contemporary lacquer arts while observing how traditional craftsmanship is becoming more valued for its practicality and relevance. "My Style" also strives to identify the signature characteristics of lacquer at a time when various types of artistic crafts are vying to prosper.
The collection will also show how Taiwanese artists identify their own niches on the art market and crafts spectrum, on which all types of art are competing to gain ground, and how they demonstrate the cultural momentum of Taiwan's lacquer art industry with their creativity and humanistic values in face of the impact from globalization. So, through their creative works, Taiwanese artists are not just introducing Taiwan to the world, but also helping Taiwan learn more about the world.
This year's collection from Taiwan was chosen by lacquer artist Chang Sen-yang (張森洋), a Taiwanese expatriate in Japan, and jointly promoted by the Taiwan Lacquer Research Association (台灣漆藝研究會), National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute, and the Yokohama-based FEI Art Museum.
FEI manager Yoko Takamiya (高宮洋子), a lacquer artist and lacquerware restorer, is the curator of the Taiwan × Japan Urushi Exchange Exhibition this year. When she flew to Taiwan in May to confirm the exhibits for the July show, she highly praised Taiwan's lacquer arts for their diversity, creativity, and openness.
Located in Yokohama, a city with a population of 3.73 million, the exhibition is expected to help elevate the visibility of Taiwan's lacquer arts in Japan and provide the featured Taiwanese artists with an opportunity to further hone their crafts by comparing their recent works with those by their Japanese peers.
‘My Style—Taiwan × Japan Urushi Exchange Exhibition 2019’