The exhibition celebrates the 40th anniversary of the V&A’s Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art by presenting lacquer as a living contemporary medium. Curated by Masami Yamada, it brings together leading practitioners from different generations and regions of Japan. Urushi is made from the sap of the lacquer tree. The material is refined, applied in numerous thin layers and cured under controlled conditions of warmth and humidity. Each layer may require further polishing before the next is added, making the process slow, technically demanding and difficult to reverse.
V&A South Kensington — “Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer”
