The Ringling Welcomes Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture

October 13, 2021 – Sarasota

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is pleased to welcome Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture. The exhibition will run Oct. 31, 2021 – Jan. 23, 2022, in the museum’s Searing Wing.

Since Neolithic times, craftspeople across East Asia have used the sap of the lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum) to coat and bond together wood, bamboo, textiles, and ceramics to make articles for daily and ritual use. The natural polymer refined from the sap forms a durable, waterproof surface that protects and beautifies. Lacquerware was — and continues to be — prized for its luster, which artists learned to accentuate over the centuries with inlaid gold, silver, mother-of-pearl and other precious materials. However, lacquer is not an easy material to work with. Years of technical training are necessary to master the medium. Nonetheless, lacquer continues to attract young artists who are undeterred by these rigors and continue to expand its’ possibilities.

“A small number of artists that have come of age since the 1980s have begun to steer the field of lacquer making in new directions,” said Dr. Rhiannon Paget, Curator of Asian Art. “They are inspired as much by international contemporary art movements as decorative traditions of the past. Several use unconventional materials and found objects such as Styrofoam and car parts to create sculptures of unprecedented scale and form, while exploiting the distinct material and aesthetic properties of lacquer.”

Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture will present over 30 works by 16 artists. Hard Bodies is the first — and to date, only — survey exhibition of contemporary Japanese lacquer sculpture in the United States. Dr. Paget, said “We are delighted to share this unique group of artworks with our community in Sarasota. Very few museums in the United States collect contemporary lacquer sculpture, so this is a wonderful and rare opportunity for visitors to learn about an exciting emerging field.”

Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture was organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.

More information can be found at https://www.ringling.org/events/hard-bodies-contemporary-japanese-lacquer-sculpture.