Layers of Brilliance: The Journey of Japanese Lacquer Tools

"Layers of Brilliance" features the tools used by Japanese makers of everyday lacquer objects. Messy in their appearance, these seemingly humble objects also "mess" with, or disturb, the distinction between the processual work of art and the finished work of art. Many of these pieces are uncertain and unstable in their identity. As a group, they belong to-and thus mediate between-the categories of the functional instrument used in the craft process and the aestheticized and theorized art object meant to be collected and thus exhibited. As implements of prolonged use, these humble, functional boards, bowls, buckets, drawers, and shelves were deployed to produce everyday lacquered items like bowls and cups. Today, in their myriad colorful drips and accumulated layers of viscous texture, they bear witness to the countless lacquered objects created from them.