Max Lamb’s upcoming show ‘Urushi Wajima’ at London’s Gallery Fumi is the culmination of a nearly ten-year love affair with the finest Japanese urushi lacquer, and with the craftspeople in Wajima – in Ishikawa prefecture, on the northern tip of the Noto...
lacquer, and with the craftspeople in Wajima – in Ishikawa prefecture, on the northern tip of the Noto peninsula – who live and breathe the craft. ‘I’ve been in Wajima four times and just love working with all the craftspeople involved,’ says Lamb. His designs merge generations of tradition with his humorous and no-nonsense approach to the creative terrain between art and furniture.Wajima-nuri
Lamb’s first hands-on experience with the tradition was back in 2010, when he participated in an exhibition at the Japanese Embassy in London called ‘Collacqueration’. One of his early three-legged split-wood stools was given the all-over lacquer treatment by a Wajima craftsperson. Since 2010, Gallery Fumi has exhibited many more of Lamb’s Wajima works – including benches, stools and tables – but the new ‘Urushi Wajima’ show is an attempt to push boundaries and commit to an exhibition entirely focused on urushi. ‘This is without a doubt one of the most important shows we have been involved in as a gallery. It’s all incredibly exciting,’ says Gallery Fumi co-director Valerio Capo.
Top, ‘Urushi Twin’ bench legs left to dry at the Tsutaya workshop. Bottom, the completed ‘Urushi Split’ cabinet at the Hikimochi Workshop.At his company’s nearby workshop, craftspeople are busy putting the final touches to some of Lamb’s larger items for the exhibition. There is a pitch-black pirate chest and an impressive bookcase, as well as a striking blood-red low cabinet with two snugly fitting sliding doors.
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