From Friday, February 5, to Sunday, March 7, the first floor of the Wakabayashi Buddhist Altar and Accessories Workshop Kyoto Main Store will host “Re:DISCOVER,” an exhibition showcasing works inspired by the techniques of Kyoto’s traditional crafts, “Kyoto Buddhist Altars and Accessories.”
Lightweight accessories finished with lacquer
In this inaugural exhibition, we are pleased to present “INHERENT : PATTERN,” a collection by product designer Kaori Akiyama. We will be unveiling the new URUSHI collection, produced by our company, for the first time in the Kansai region.
Kaori Akiyama creates works that effectively harness the power of color and materials. Her brand, “INHERENT:PATTERN,” is a product line that conveys the message that “wood is a living material.”
During a visit to an artisan workshop in Kyoto in 2020, the designer rediscovered the similarities between lacquer—a “living material” that gradually hardens over time—and wood, which led to this new approach. By substituting lacquer for the metal components in the contemporary jewelry line [DD:WW], the designer achieved the lightness expected of jewelry while maintaining its strength.
Please enjoy the unique, beautiful character of each piece of wood—what we call “INHERENT PATTERN”—along with the charm of craftsmanship created by skilled hands.
A place to rediscover the charm of Kyoto’s traditional crafts
Guided by the philosophy of “nurturing, refining, and passing on traditional craftsmanship to the next generation,” we are working to apply artisanal techniques to other fields. As Kyoto Buddhist altars and ritual objects are often referred to as a “comprehensive art form,” they are created through a wide range of disciplines—including woodworking, lacquerwork, and metalwork—which enables us to produce a diverse array of products.
To leverage this strength, we have actively collaborated with creators and craft communities across Japan in recent years. We aim to increase opportunities to utilize artisanal skills and challenge ourselves with new forms of expression, thereby further refining our craftsmanship.
To make the most of these characteristics, we have been actively collaborating with creators and craft communities across Japan in recent years. We hope to increase opportunities for artisans to showcase their skills and to help them refine their craft by taking on new creative challenges.
Driven by our desire to provide an opportunity to showcase the products born from these initiatives, we have decided to hold “Re:DISCOVER” on an irregular basis. Through collaborations with creators and other craft regions, we aim to present new facets of traditional craftsmanship in the form of items that seamlessly integrate into modern life. We hope you will join us in “rediscovering” the charm of traditional crafts.
＜Exhibition Overview＞
Re: DISCOVER Vol. 1 “INHERENT: PATTERN BY Kaori Akiyama”
Dates: Friday, February 5, 2021 – Sunday, March 7, 2021
Hours: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Location: Wakabayashi Buddhist Artifacts Workshop, Kyoto Main Store, 1st Floor (Shichijo-dori Shinmachi Higashi-iru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto)
Inquiries: 075-371-3131
Kaori Akiyama (STUDIO BYCOLOR) ／ Product Designer
She heads STUDIO BYCOLOR, a design firm that creates works that effectively harness the power of color and materials. After graduating from the Department of Design Engineering at Chiba University’s Faculty of Engineering in 2002, he gained experience at ITOKI Corporation and Studio Samira Boon (Netherlands) before arriving at his current position. Recipient of the German Design Award (Germany), DESIGN PLUS (Germany), DFA Asia Design Award (Hong Kong), DIA Top 100 (Hangzhou, China), and the Good Design Award (Japan); selected for the LEXUS NEW TAKUMI Project 2016; and has exhibited at domestic and international trade shows such as Salone del Mobile (Milan, Italy) and Ambiente (Germany). Since 2018, I have served as the planner and director of “MATERIAL IN TIME,” a design exhibition held at PMQ in Hong Kong that showcases Japanese creativity through the lens of materials. I am a part-time lecturer in the Department of Design Engineering at Chiba University’s Faculty of Engineering and the Department of System Design at Hosei University’s Faculty of Design Engineering.
https://studiobycolor.com/
INHERENT:PATTERN
INHERENT:PATTERN
is a product brand that uses STUDIO BYCOLOR’s proprietary processing technique to expand the vascular bundles of hardwood, powerfully and sincerely expressing the evidence of the trees’ lives.
It was born out of a reevaluation of “wood” as a material closely intertwined with human life, and through repeated experimentation aimed at bringing out the wood’s charm—such as the evidence of the trees’ lives and the way they breathe. The fibrous structure inherent in wood reveals unique characteristics in every piece, varying by region and species. Utilizing hardwoods such as cherry, beech, and Ryomo (a type of white birch), the brand comprises four product lines: contemporary jewelry (DD:WW), architectural hardware (FK:WW), a dual-purpose wall-mounted and tabletop clock (OO:WW), and a furoshiki (TT:WW) featuring large-scale prints of these distinctive patterns.
https://inherent-pattern.katalok.ooo/ja
https://vimeo.com/470354990
