present Associate Professor, Saga University, Art and Regional Design
2008 Ph.D., Kyoto City University of Arts
2005 M.F.A., Kyoto City University of Arts
2003 B.F.A., Kyoto City University of Arts
Solo Exhibitions
2018 Gion KONISHI, Kyoto, Kyoto('15,'12,'11,'08)
2017 Galley Keifu, Kyoto ('14)
2016 Orie Art Gallery, Tokyo
2013 Line and Surface, Keiko Art International
2012 Kouichi Fine Arts, Osaka
Abiesfirma, Kobe (’09)
2010 Gallery Kian, Kyoto (’05)
2007 Wacole Ginza Art Space, Tokyo
2005 WORKS OF URUSHI, ISHIDA TAISEISHA Hall, Kyoto (’04)
Group Exhibitions
2018 Urushi Nowadays, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo
Igawa Takeshi and Sakai Naoki, Gallery Aoian, Kyoto
FuEiSho – Tan, Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo
Art Meets Winter, Shimazu Seisakusho, Kyoto
2017 Hard Bories: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture, Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Sculptures by Glass, Ceramic, Lacquer, Orie Art Gallery
Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, Madrid, New York, Tokyo
2016 URUSHI_ISM, Contemporary Lacquer from Japan, ESH Gallery, Milan
IKI SUMISomé, Seiryukan Kyoto
2015 Dialogue with Materials: Contemporary Japanese Arts an Crafts, Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey
Urushi Sculptures by KURIMOTO Natsuki, SASAI Fumie and IGAWA Takeshi, Sokyo Gallery, Kyoto
Japan spirit ×15, ORIE GALLERY, Tokyo
2014 Dialogue with Materials: Contemporary Japanese Arts an Crafts, Ahmed Adnen Saygun Sanat Merkezi, Izmir, Turkey
URUSHI: Couleurs et formes des Laques, Japonaises contemporaines, Mizen Fine Arts, Paris
2012 Igawa Takeshi and Gejo Hanako, Gallery Kian, Kyoto
2011 from Asuka to Nara, New Forms by Urushi, Itami Craft Center, Hyogo
Contemporary Lacquer, Cavin Morris Gallery, New York, NY
2010 from Asuka to Nara, International Sculpture Exhibition, Daijoin Temple Garden Cultural Hall, Nara
Craft and Life, Gallery Keifu, Kyoto
2009 SOFA New York
Young Lacquer Artists, Wajima Museum of Lacuer
Contemporary Japanese Lacquer, KEIKO Gallery, MA
2008 Cool Black, Daimaru Art Gallery, Tokyo
SOFA Chicago
Asahi Modern Craft Exhibition
2007 FORMATIVE ARTS: WORKS OF WOOD, URUSHI, AND BAMBOO, Miyama Thatched-roof Museum, Kyoto
2006 URUSHI SHOW: DRINKING VESSELS FOR SAKE OR GREEN TEA, Machi-ya (a Merchant Family-house), Kyoto
FLORAL FESTIVAL: AN EXHIBITION BY THREE ARTISTS, Gion KONISHI, Kyoto
TALENTE 2006, the International Trades Fair in Munich, Germany
2005 PROSPECTS FOR LACQUER CLAY: WORKS BY ARTISTS IN KYOTO, Gallery NISHIKAWA, Kyoto
THE ISHIKAWA INTERNATIONAL URUSHI EXHIBITION 2005, Meitetsu M' ZA, Kanazawa
ONE HUNDRED ARTISTS WORKS OF DRAWINGS, ISHIDA TAISEISHA Hall, Kyoto
SELECTED ARTISTS IN KYOTO 2005: New Wave, The Museum of Kyoto, Kyoto
2004 Kyo Ryu Art Project, Okinawa
ARTISTS WORKS IN BLACK, ISHIDA TAISEISHA Hall, Kyoto
Awards
2017 EGrand Prix, 3rd Triennale of KOGEI in Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Finalist, Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, Madrid
2015 Excellent Award, 55th Japan Craft Exhibition, Tokyo
2014 41st, Saga Arts and Culture Award, Saga
Takeuchi Sawako Award, 53th Japan Craft Exhibition,
2012 Grand Prize, 52th Craft Exhibition, Tokyo
2011 Silver Prize, Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Korea
2009 Grand Prize, Ishikawa International URUSHI Exhibition, Ishikawa
Umehara Award for Doctor Thesis, Kyoto City University of Arts
New Artist Award, Kyoto City Art Exhibition
2008 Excellent Award, Asahi Modern Craft Exhibition
2007 Grand Prize for Elegance, ELEGANT SHAPES: WORKS OF URUSHI IN OUR DAILY LIFE, The MIYAKO MESSE, Kyoto
2006 TALENTE—Rize for Design, TALENTE 2006, THE INTERNATIONAL TRADES FAIR, Munich, Germany
2005 Mayor's Prize, Annual Exhibition of Kyoto City University of Arts, The Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto
Award for Excellence, The 45th Japan Crafts Exhibition, Tokyo
2003 Mayor’s Prize, Annual Exhibition of Kyoto City University of Arts, The Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto
2002 Hiradate Prize, Annual Exhibition of Kyoto City University of Arts, The Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto
Collections/ Public Art
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
The Riz-Carlton Hotel, Kyoto
JAL International Terninal Lounge, Haneda Airport, Tokyo
IGAWA Takeshi, who lives and works in Saga City and is Associate Professor at Saga University in Kyushu, uses the most traditional of Japanese craft materials, but is one of the most closely watched young artist in the field of contemporary lacquer art because of his daring and expressive sculptures.
Known as urushi in Japanese, lacquer is the sap of a tree related to the sumac family, and has been used in Japan as an adhesive and a coating (including decoration) for more than 9000 years.
Among the distinctive features of lacquer are the gloss and depth of the surface and the pleasing tactile experience, which IGAWA features in his sculptures.
“I don’t intend to create meaningful forms which conveys my messages. I always think about expressing the beauty of the lacquer as a material. Unlike other materials used for three dimensional art objects, like ceramic, stone, wood, metal, lacquer cannot produce a solid form because it is only liquid. However, lacquer is a unique coating or painting material, and when applied to different forms it produces distinctively different appearances. For example, there are dramatic differences between concave and convex surfaces when compared to flat surfaces. Reflections and the play of light and shadow on the surfaces are always changing the appearance of a piece. To create the most beautiful and pleasing forms, the lines are critical. The edges are the first decisions I must make when I begin carving the urethane form, but at the same time, I need to imagine the curve of all the lines of a form when it is completed. If the lines and the surfaces harmonize perfectly, I feel that I have fully expressed the beauty of the lacquer as a material.” IGAWA Takeshi
Traditionally lacquer work has dozens of layers of lacquer applied over a period of months, and each of the final layers is polished, giving the finished piece strength and a beautiful gloss. Generally there can be as many as 50 different steps in the completion of a single lacquer piece. For the inaugural online exhibition of Keiko Art International, we have created a four minute film featuring IGAWA and his work which illustrates the basic steps in the process of creating lacquer sculpture; however the entire process is so lengthy the film necessarily eliminates many of the steps. Seven of IGAWA’s recent pieces can also be found on the exhibition page.
