Tohru Matsuzaki
Tohru Matsuzaki: Jomon Red and Negoro Vermilion
October 6th - October 15th, 2023
The works of Tohru Matsuzaki are covered with a generous amount of lacquer.
It's durable and easy to wash.
While being highly practical, it is also a very beautiful piece of work.
The rough yet dignified form is the work of only Toru Matsuzaki.
Please take a look.
Exhibition
Exhibition view
To commemorate 50 years of its creation...
Autumn 2023 will begin with the Rugby World Cup.
A sport that brings joy to people all over the world.
Ginza Ippodo brings together the powerful woodwork of Matsuzaki Toru.
Matsuzaki carves out the finest wood from Sakurai Meimokuten in Gifu using a chisel, mallet, and plane, then applies generous layers of high-quality lacquer from the Nakagawa area.
The rough and crude shapes seem to go back to the Jomon period, and Matsuzaki's Negoro lacquerware, which was inspired by the Yi Dynasty and which decided on a career in woodworking in his youth, is what makes him so appealing.
The theme of the 50th anniversary exhibition of Matsuzaki Toru, who never had a teacher and continued to pursue the beauty of woodworking that he believed in, is "Jomon Red, Negoro Vermilion."
Interior designer Shigeru Uchida said, "Matsuzaki's red is Jomon red, and Jomon red is the red of the sun."
When I first saw his vermilion lacquerware, it reminded me of Negoro and the Joseon Dynasty, and I felt a sense of nostalgia, as if it had been found in the corner of an old storehouse.
During this hot summer, Matsuzaki continued working in his workshop at Mogi.
As a young baseball player, he was probably inspired by Ohtani's success in the Major Leagues.
I was inspired by Matsuzaki Toru's work.
Tohru Matsuzaki
Tohru Matsuzaki
Biography
Born in Umegaoka, Tokyo in 1944
1967 Graduated from Tamagawa University, Faculty of Letters
1974: Received instruction from ceramic artist Tatsuzo Shimaoka
1982: First time selected for the Kokugakai exhibition
1983: Won the Kokugakai Newcomer Award and held his first solo exhibition at Seibu Department Store Ikebukuro Main Branch.
1984: Became a member of the Kokugakai and held a solo exhibition at the Nagoya Meitetsu Department Store.
1987: Received the Kokugakai Fellow Works Award
1988: Recommended as a member of the Kokugakai. Moved his workplace to Mogi-machi, Tochigi Prefecture.
1992 Solo exhibition at Hankyu Department Store Umeda branch. Since then, held annually as a brother exhibition at Hankyu Department Store Yurakucho.
1995 Exhibited at the "Contemporary Japanese Craft & Jewelry Exhibition" (Los Angeles)
2001: Designed Daniel Ost's flower vases at the Daniel Ost Flower Festival in Tokyo
2002 Participated in the Shigeru Uchida Exhibition at the Milan Salone 2002 (Italy)
2003: Exhibited at the "Oribe" Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
2008 CHANO-YU Shigeru Uchida & 7artists (Ippodo New York)
2009 Solo exhibition at Ippodo New York (2012, 2016)
In addition, he holds solo exhibitions and sibling exhibitions in various locations every year.
Collection
Philadelphia Museum of Art (USA)
University of Michigan Museum of Art (USA)
Detroit Institute of Arts (USA)
Schleswig Museum (Germany)
Chestnut Tree Museum (Nagano)