Free exhibition of contemporary Japanese urushi lacquer art, centred on the work of Kyoto artist Mine Tanigawa, at the V&A South Kensington.
Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer is open at the V&A South Kensington, in Room 45 of The Toshiba Gallery, and it runs until Friday 30 April 2027. It's a look at urushi, the natural tree sap that's been used in Japan for over 7,000 years, going back to the Jomon period. The techniques developed locally over all that time, picking up cross-cultural influences from across Asia, and the medium now works with a palette that goes far beyond its original five natural colours.
At the heart of the show is the work of Kyoto-based artist Mine Tanigawa. Her process is a slow one: she starts with watercolour sketches, refines them digitally, and then layers, cures and polishes the lacquer by hand. Each sculpture takes around three months to complete, so when you're standing in front of one, you're looking at months of patient, manual work. There's also a film made with the support of the Toshiba International Foundation that visits Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi, a traditional lacquer supplier, and considers how contemporary makers are reinterpreting the medium. The display is part of a wider programme of lunchtime lectures on the subject, so if you want to dig deeper into the craft, there's more to it than just the objects on the wall.
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It's free to see, and you don't need to book, so you can just drop in whenever you're around South Kensington. You'll find it in Room 45 of The Toshiba Gallery at the V&A, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL, and it stays open through to 30 April 2027.
