Terumasa Ikeda: Iridescent Lacquer
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Overview
Terumasa Ikeda”Throne" Incense Container - 百千玉璽香合, 2023Urushi Lacquer, Cypress, Mother-of-Pearl, Turbo Snail Pearl, GoldH4 x W4 x D4 cm
H1.57 x W1.57 x D1.57 inIppodo Gallery New York illuminates a modern lacquer technique that disrupts preconceived notions of the raden (mother-of -pearl inlay) tradition. Terumasa Ikeda: Iridescent Lacquer—on display from March 16th to April 20th, 2023—showcases Terumasa Ikeda’s revolutionary laser-incised raden technique, a method the artist spent eight years developing. Ikeda was born and resides in Kanazawa, known as the country’s preeminent hub for lacquerware production. Arabic numerals, computer screens, and digital signals—all assembled from abalone shell—adorn the twenty object boxes, tea caddies, and incense containers.
In various sizes, from cubes to hexagons to pyramids, Ikeda’s artworks are crafted from most precious materials: a base of Japanese native kiso hinoki wood is coated with innumerable layers of black urushi lacquer and decorated with gold leaf, gold powder, and mother-of-pearl. With a hand in each step of the fabrication, the pristine forms cut from wood and varnished with urushi lacquer perfectly accentuate the miniscule and intricate decorations of Ikeda’s design.
The truly unique interpretation of the rare technique has made Terumasa Ikeda one of the most sought after raden artists of the new generation. For Ikeda, this technique is a most natural progression in keeping with the times; where once raden was dominated by images of the divine, Ikeda’s cutting-edge artworks assert that magic—really, the laws and values of our modern society—is one to nine and everything in between.
Be sure to read Ippodo's journal, published weekly, including an upcoming feature on Terumasa Ikeda’s March exhibition. The artist will attend a forthcoming reception hosted by Ippodo Gallery at 32 E 67th Street to discuss his work and answer questions. All are welcome.
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Works
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Though Arabic numerals are by no means a modern invention, Ikeda’s iridescent depictions against the infinitely deep black urushi lacquer immediately evoke a mental image of a computer screen or the internationally iconic title sequence from the film “The Matrix” (1999). Ikeda’s objects—ceremonial tea utensils, treasure boxes, and precious containers—push to refashion the visual language of raden to include the electronic realm of data that now dominates the globalized world. Ikeda’s meticulous process took eight years to develop: from native Japanese kiso hinoki cypress, Ikeda sculpts and refines the shape until the thin walls allow for the passage of light. Encased within black urushi lacquer, the grain of the kiso hinoki is wholly saturated and densified. Whereas the interior is finished with coats of gold in the maki-e style, Ikeda’s true innovative artisanship is in his treatment of the nacre-inlaid surface. Designed by hand and then interpreted digitally with a computer program as a stencil, Ikeda’s iconic numerical pattern is intricately engraved from the prepared abalone shell using a laser cutter. Placing the perforated shell into water, Ikeda uses ultrasonic waves to free the glyphs, which are then set onto the adhesive lacquer by hand. The result is a futuristic miyabi artwork—eternal, never tarnishing, mesmerizing—that invites viewers to enter the virtual world through a conventional medium that has been cherished and coveted for more than a millennium.
Please join us in celebrating the unique creations of Terumasa Ikeda, who is debuting his work in the United States for the first time, on display from March 16th until April 20th, 2023. The artist will attend a forthcoming reception hosted by Ippodo Gallery at 32 E 67th Street, New York, 10065, to discuss his work and answer questions. All are welcome.
About the Gallery
Committed to creating shared craft- and Japanese culture-oriented experiences, Ippodo Gallery has worked directly with over 200 artists and held thousands of exhibitions over three decades. Keiko Aono founded Ippodo Gallery Tokyo in 1996, with two locations in the heart of Ginza and the residential area of Gotenyama. Daughter Shoko Aono opened Ippodo Gallery in New York in 2008, forging new connections with a global audience. Since then, she continues to witness the timeless cross-cultural impact of Japanese kogei art that transcends language.
References
Rong Lu, Takashi Yoshida & Tetsuo Miyakoshi (2013) Oriental Lacquer: A Natural Polymer, Polymer Reviews, 53:2, 153-191, DOI: 10.1080/15583724.2013.776585
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Events
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“In an age without religion, perhaps information has become our god.” Ikeda spent eight years perfecting his unique technique: using a laser to cut the hand-drawn numerals from the nacre layer of abalone and other gastropod shells, he then puts the mother-of-pearl sheets into a water tank that pulsates with ultrasonic waves, freeing the delicate symbols. He is forever striving to increase the atomicity of his work, shrinking the numerals from ‘0’ to ‘9’ until they reach the microscopic level, imperceptible to the naked eye. He completes everything by hand, using a bamboo skewer to position each of the numbers on the black-lacquered wooden base, pushing his personal skills to the limit. He next applies a coating of lacquer, then after it has dried, another, building up innumerable coats before honing them down to a thickness of a mere 0.05mm. The thinner the pieces, the clearer and more transparent the shell becomes. What we see is the light refracted, creating a beautiful iridescence. If we trace the course of these carefully aligned numerals with our eyes, it feels as if we are watching a science fiction movie, or being drawn down into a labyrinth.
Whether hexagonal, cylindrical, triangular, or square, each work is surprisingly weightless. Nearly all of his works are hollow boxes consisting of purely organic materials. Cut from Japanese cypress from the Kiso region, Ikeda’s decorations in natural urushi lacquer and mother-of-pearl imbue the entirely organic mediums with a totally inorganic appearance. Depending on the angle in which they are viewed, the light seems to fluctuate, the numbers scattered across the surface appearing and disappearing in a transient manner. The lasting impression is that of a circuit board; should the electric current be cut, it seems is if the numerals would disappear altogether. Perhaps the works question the digital world upon which we rely. Having lost our religion and secluded ourselves from nature, we are attracted to data and the internet as means of satisfaction. However, the iridescence of Ikeda’s mother-of-pearl is a altogether different from the light of the computer: it is impossible to extinguish. As long as lacquer exists, as long as people retain the sensitivity to appreciate the light of the mother-of-pearl, the iridescence will continue to shine radiantly. It is the light of hope, the most precious beauty bestowed upon us by nature.
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Contributing Essays and Press
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NEW VALUES
February 22, 2023Although undeniably revolutionary, Terumasa Ikeda’s use of numerals as decoration and his application of computer-guided laser cutting and ultrasound to the art of shell inlay in lacquer can be interpreted... -
The Past Meets the Present: Terumasa Ikeda’s Lacquerware
March 1, 2023With great virtuosity, Terumasa Ikeda transports lacquerware into the 21st century. He bridges the past and the present by using the same raden technique and materials employed by prior lacquer... -
Design Miami E-Magazine: The Buzz
March 3, 2023Ippodo Gallery in New York presents a solo exhibition spotlighting Japanese lacquer artist Terumasa Ikeda. Ikeda fabricates shimmering mother-of-pearl designs ingrained into the surface of wood with an innovative laser-incised...
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