Pre-Exhibition

Period: January 4 (Wed), 2012 through January 29 (Sun), 2012
Venue: Gallery A & Gallery B Shiinoki Cultural Complex Ishikawa Prefecture(34 works from Design Center Collection will be exhibited.)

Visiting Exhibition

The Ishikawa International Urushi Exhibition 2012 in Wajima
Period: February 25 (Sat), 2012 through March 20 (Tue), 2012
Venue: Ishikawa Wajima Urushi Art Museum (Wajima) (73 works including prize winners will be exhibited)

Hideo Nakashima
Chairman The Executive Committee of The Ishikawa International Urushi Exhibition (Chairman Design Center Ishikawa)

It is with great pleasure to announce the ninth anniversary of the Ishikawa International Urushi Exhibition.
Since the first exhibition was held, many extraordinary works have been entered from more than ten nations and regions. This exhibition has been highly regarded as an international exhibition that explores “The Future of Urushi Ware”.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the artists, jurors, and those who have been involved in holding this exhibition as well as Kanazawa City and Ishikawa Prefecture, Wajima and Kaga cities for their support and cooperation.
Although applicants from Tokyo, Europe and the Tohoku area have decreased this year due to the tragic events that transpired on March 11th, we were excited to see more young artists apply from China than in previous exhibitions. It was impressive and exciting to see their work convey meaningful messages rather than just the fine execution of their techniques. The winner of the Grand Prize demonstrated an exemplary talent for storytelling.
We hope this exhibition will help rejuvenate Ishikawa’s Urushi industry and promote international exchanges through the use of Urushi. We also hope to establish a better, richer and fuller life for all those who use Urushi. The organizer and the Executive Committee would like to pursue the future of Urushi ware and all the possibilities it has to offer.
Thank you again for your continuous support.

January 2012

Masanori Tanimoto
Governor Ishikawa Prefecture

I would like to congratulate the commencement of the Ishikawa International Urushi Exhibition 2012. This is the exhibition’s ninth event which originally started in 1989 as the only international Urushi competition that accepted world-wide participants.
This year’s exhibition theme was “The Future of Urushi Ware”. The competitors aimed to convey new functionalities and refreshed sensibilities in their Urushi works. As a result, 75 works were submitted into the exhibition with participants from 7 nations and regions of the world.
I would like to express my great gratitude to all those involved in holding this exhibition and for their continuous support and effort.
Three districts in Ishikawa, Wajima, Yamanaka, and Kanazawa, boast a world renowned reputation for producing high quality lacquer ware. Each area has its own history of developing Urushi ware within their local regions.
I believe this exhibition provides an opportunity to explore new trends and techniques of Urushi products and promotes product development through the display of bold designs from all over the world. I hope that many visitors from all over the world will come and enjoy this exhibition.
I would like to conclude my greetings by expressing my sincerest hopes that this exhibition will further enrich the lives of the people in Ishikawa.

January 2012

Yukiyoshi Yamano
Mayor The City of Kanazawa

I would like to celebrate the opening of the Ishikawa International Urushi Exhibition 2012.
Since the launch of this exhibition, it has been the only international Urushi competition in the world accepting entries from all nations and regions. It has grown into an exhibition that explores new features of Urushi ware. Many exceptional works were entered into this year’s exhibition.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all supporting organizations for their hard work and contributed effort to this exhibition. I would also like to congratulate all the Prize winners on their successful works of art.
Urushi ware has been cherished and used for its great beauty and durability. It is with great care that we continue to admire it and try to incorporate it into our daily lives. Recently, however, the field of Urushi ware has been struggling to keep up with current social changes and lifestyles. We should take advantage of Urushi materials and continue to use its handed down techniques and craftsmanship. This exhibition displays many excellent works which showcase new ways of utilizing Urushi.
Kanazawa’s traditional arts and crafts have played a significant role in making this city an attractive tourist destination. In 2009, Kanazawa was recognized as a “Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art” by the Creative City Network of UNESCO. In addition, the Hokuriku Shin Kansan will start operation in 2014. Kanazawa has an exciting future ahead of it.
Since 2006, Kanazawa City has held a gathering of artists and editors called “Oshale Messe” (which means “Fashion Conscious”) to improve the quality of products in the fields of fashion, textiles and traditional industries. We established the Kanazawa Crafts Business Creating Organization in April of 2010 to help crafts become more commercially sustainable. As a result, Kanazawa has been known as a “city of handcrafts” at both home and abroad.
In conclusion, I hope this exhibition proves instrumental in revitalizing local industries and encouraging international exchange through Urushi ware. I also hope this exhibition will someday become the most competitive Urushi competition in the world.

January 2012