Lunchtime Lectures: Curating Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer

Join Masami Yamada, Curator of Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer, to discover the research, travel and collecting project behind the display. Generously funded by Art Fund and Hiroyuki Maki, the project took her from the urushi lacquer forests of northern Japan to artists’ studios across the country. The resulting display features works by 41 living artists, ranging from Japan’s Living National Treasures to emerging artists. The talk reveals the encounters and discoveries that shaped the display, and the diverse ways artists are working with urushi today.

Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer runs until 30 April 2027 in the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art (Room 45).

Masami Yamada is Curator of Japanese Art in the Asia Department at the V&A. Her current research focuses on contemporary Japanese craft, particularly the ways artists are rethinking traditional materials and techniques. She is the author of the forthcoming V&A book Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer, due for publication in spring 2027.