Opening Night: Thursday 13 February, 6.30-9pm

‘Stream’ has two meanings to me, the flow of history and the fluidity of lacquer.
Shoko Taruma – Artist

The work is deep black, transformed by light irradiation. Analogous forms that mirror the ever-changing flow of history, through curved surfaces of black Japanese lacquer. Japanese lacquer is a natural paint, a medium 12,600 years old. It was traditionally used for tools and vessels of daily life, the decorations of magnificence, pride and power; and in religion, (most notably) for the statues of Buddha. Since ancient times, the Japanese sense of beauty has been aligned with the principles of nature and the perception of beauty found in ‘darkness’. The low ambient light of Japanese houses engendered mediums with highly reflective surfaces, the mediums of objects that retained their form in the half-light. These objects held light, colour and their reflective surfaces, a sense of beauty called ‘In Praise of Shadows’. Having travelled extensively around Kyoto Shoko Taruma presents a new exhibition of contemporary art that celebrates the principle of ‘shadow’ and the flow of the medium.

Professional class maki-e lacquer (Duration : 150 - 180 mins, all Japanese materials included)
12 February 2020, 6pm
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1 March 2020, 10am
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Experience lacquer decoration techniques - lacquer painting and maki-e lacquer decoration. (Maki-e lacquer: lacquer ware decoration technique – designs drawn in lacquer. Wet lacquer is then sprinkled with gold, silver or other metal powders.)

Gold leaf
29 February 2020,10am (Duration : 120 mins, all Japanese materials included)
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