The group exhibition, Reincarnation, explores the beauty of the antique Japanese tea kettles, which in Japan used to be everyday objects in ordinary people's lives, and some of them were also luxurious toys for the aristocracy and wealthy classes for a presentation of their excellent taste and artistic pursuit in life, until the twentieth century when the wave of Westernization and industrialization hit Japan. The iron tea kettles were born in the Edo period (1603 - 1867), and the next century of the Meiji period (1868 - 1912) witnessed the peak of metalworking craftsmanship in Japan and the popularity of the cast-iron kettles. As the Japanese writer, Natsume Soseki wrote in his world-famous novel, I am a Cat, "the rich people were so used to hearing the sound of the metal made by the lid of the ryubundo (龍文堂) iron kettles. "

The traditional Japanese kettles were made from cast iron from the eastern part of Japan. Besides the unique material, the making process of the iron kettles are also highly technical and was exclusive to the prominent artisan families and famous studio, like ryubundo; meanwhile, the great master of the studio and the head of the family usually shared the same name generation by generation. Nowadays, the secret scroll of making the cast iron tea kettles is almost lost completely following the decline of the artisan families and studios at the end of the twentieth century.

Through showcasing Japanese kettles made in Edo and Meiji periods, this exhibition explores the once glorious metalworking craftsmanship in Japan and its unique aesthetics of wabisabi (侘寂) and mononoaware (物の哀れ). This exhibition also features the kintsugi teaware made by the Japan-born, Vancouver-based kintsugi artist and conservator Naoko Fukumaru.

About the artist:

Naoko Fukumaru 福丸直子 is a Kyoto-born, Vancouver-based kintsugi artist. A professional conservator — who previously worked at the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and was involved in major conservation projects such as Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper — Fukumaru has been collaborating with prominent B.C. potters since 2019 to restore, adapt, and reinvent their broken or cracked works. The exhibition presents over 200 works of kintsugi as well as the new commission and installation Slug Pottery Excavation Room, an homage to the legacy of the artists who helped define the pottery scene in B.C. Created with pieces of broken ceramics found at the former site of Mick Henry’s studio, Slug Pottery, the installation gives shape to a unique form of collaboration between artists past and present. Fukumaru’s kintsugi respectfully brings new life and attention to the works of Henry, Lewis, Wayne Ngan, Heinz Laffin, and others.