Mingei Arts Gallery: Japanese antique & contemporary arts @ Art in Brussels. 4 to 8 June 2014

15 janvier 2014

Mingei Arts Gallery: Japanese antique & contemporary arts @ Art in Brussels. 4 to 8 June 2014

Shiro Hannya noh mask. Wood and gofun pigment. Edo period, 17th century. Photo courtesy Mingei Arts Gallery.

Carved by Ōmiya Yamato Sanemori (last generation of Iseki family)

With a lacquered storage box

The Hannya mask is a Noh mask which represents a jealous female demon or serpent. This piece has a exceptional expression. Pale face and the slight wrinkle on the middle of the forehead express the anger and the pains of deep sorrow. On the backside of the mask, it is lacquered with gold lacquer “Shiro-Hannya, carved by Ōmi”. Ōmi means Ōmi-Iseki family which produced the Noh masks from 16th to 17th century in Ōmi (today, Nagahama city, Shiga prefecture).

Sumo wrestlers Gosho ningyô (Palace dolls), Keyaki (Zelkova serrata) wood and gofun (lacquer and mother of pearls powder), Edo Period, early 19th century or earlier. H.: 35 cm. Photo courtesy Mingei Arts Gallery.

Gosho ningyô borrow heavily from ancient aesthetic traditions. The plump child with thick black hair and brilliant white skin, often clothed in nothing more than a simple bib, is a pure expression of wayôbi, an aesthetic tradition based on appreciating the beauty and innocence of youth dating back to the Heian era.

Philippe Boudin, director of Mingei Arts Gallery, and his wife Maiko Takenobu, are specialized on Japanese antique & contemporary arts with a special focus on "Mingei". The main fields represented are tea ceremony staff; bamboo basket; mingei; lacquer; painting, ceramic and textile. They present works of art five times a year: 4 times at the Atelier Visconti, 4 rue Visconti, 75006 Paris; and one time in Belgium for Asian Art in Brussels. The 2013 dates are: 21 March-6 April in Paris; 5-9 June in Brussels; 13-22 June in Paris; 5-21 September in Paris; 21-30 November in Paris. Between the exhibitions above, we welcome you by appointment in Paris.

Mingei Arts Gallery: Japanese antique & contemporary arts. Rue Visconti 4, F-75006 Paris France. Mobile: +33 (0) 6 09 76 60 68 - Email: info@mingei-arts-gallery.com - Website: www.mingei-arts-gallery.com. Art in Brussels. 4 to 8 June 2014