Panel Discussion

Comments on the Jurors’ Special Prizes Winners (seven works)(7/7)

NATSUME(MC) ───── Finally, the Masahito SHIHO Prize:Yuzen-to (Take It Easy) by Takuto HIRAI. Mr SHIHO, could you please provide our final comments for the awards?

SHIHO ───── What I feel from this work is that the creator truly loves frogs. From the first glance, I felt the artist’s affectionate gaze towards the subject. It is made of kanshitsu (dry lacquer) with a very high level of sculptural quality, and although it is large for a frog, it is nevertheless very charming. As I mentioned earlier, it has a different kind of cuteness.

Furthermore, regarding the finish, the lustrous, moist texture that includes the transparency of lacquer expresses a texture that goes beyond that of a real amphibian, it feels like something not of this world.

The artist lives in Kagawa Prefecture, and a characteristic of the work is the effective use of kinma (incised lacquer) decoration around the eyes and ears.

While such a work would look fine in a gallery, I think it would be very enjoyable to have such a piece, perhaps in a slightly smaller size, casually placed within a daily living space. I feel the artist’s relaxed, unpretentious way of life and state of mind are conveyed through this sculpture.

Having been involved in these assessments for a long time, I feel that lacquer works like this frog or the previously mentioned leopard (works that might not have a specific utility but serve as a source of comfort for the owner) will continue to increase, and I look forward to that. Although this was a large-scale entry for the competition, I feel it would blend perfectly into daily life if scaled down slightly. That is all.

NATSUME(MC) ───── Thank you, Mr SHIHO.