Biography

Exhibitions

Selected Exihibtions

2017
ZOKOKU Kagawa Lacquer Exhibition, Tokyo International Forum, Japan
2018
Asian Design Art Exhibition 2018, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2019
Art Fair Tokyo, Japan (’21)

Kanazawa Utatsuyama Craft Workshop Exhibition, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Ishikawa, Japan

Fuori Salone – Design Language – Milan Design Week, Italy

Gendai Shitsugei no Manazashi, Osaka Takashimaya Department Store, Japan

KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa, KUMU KANAZAWA by The Share Hotels, Ishikawa, Japan
2020
Solo exhibition “Float”, Art Shop Tsukibae, Ishikawa, Japan

Taipei International Art Fair, Taiwan
2021
RE:OPENING CEREMONY, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

The Elemental – Music of the Spheres –, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

GO FOR KOGEI, Special Exhibition I, Shokoji Temple, Toyama, Japan

KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2021, Hyatt Centric Kanazawa, Japan
2022
TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands

Deepen・Broaden – The Expansion of Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan

A Lighthouse called Kanata New York Pop-Up, USA

Masterpiece London, UK

Seattle Art Fair, USA

The Future Eternal – a special exhibition for DESIGNART TOKYO, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

Collection 1: Vessels, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan

Sacred mysteries dwelled in KOGEI | Midori Tsukada / Mayu Nakata, Gallery NOW, Toyama, Japan

Awards

2015　　Encouragement Award, 58th Kagawa Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition (’16)
2019　　Meitetsu M'za President Award, 60th Ishikawa Traditional Craft Exhibition
　　　　Finalist, LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize
　　　　Special Recognition Award by Ohi Toyasai, 4th Triennale of Kogei in KANAZAWA
2020 Encouragement Award by Mayor of Kanazawa, 76th Kanazawa Kogei Exhibition

Public Collections

Kagawa Urushi Lacquerware Institute, Japan
Kagawa Prefectural Museum, Japan
Kanazawa Utatsuyama Craft Workshop, Japan
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan

Selected Commission Works

Hyatt Centric Kanazawa, Japan

中田真裕 Mayu
Nakata Mayu
Nakata

oasis (2021) | Lacquer, linen, pigments, tin powder

H46.5 × W20 × D18 cm

Mayu
Nakata

Profile

1982 Born in Hokkaido, Japan
2005 Hokkaido University
2017 Kagawa Urushi Lacquerware Institute
2021 Kanazawa Utatsuyama Craft Workshop
Lives and works in Kanazawa

01 Exhibitions More
02 Awards More
03 Public Collections More

About
the ArtistAbout
the Artist

The allure of lacquer is quintessentially an Asian one, the material prevalent and used since prehistory in nearly each and every nation from China, Southeast Asia, and of course, Japan. In particular, Japan’s intimate relationship with lacquer dates from the Jomon Period (BCE 3200), as evidenced by the lacquered earthenware and ornaments unearthed and discovered in the Kakinoshima Excavation sites of Hokkaido. In this light, Mayu Nakata (b.
1982 –) has sprung forth as a talented presence in the world of traditional Japanese lacquer through her imaginative innovations in reviving the ancient lacquering technique of ‘kinma’, and imbuing it with a contemporary beauty at once both bold and electric. Essentially, ‘kinma’ entails a painstaking process of carving patterns within a body surface and, inlaying different colours within the incisions, thereby covering the entirety of the work with patterns imbedded within lacquer itself. Throughout Japan, it is only in Takamatsu where this technique continues to be deeply cherished as a style of lacquer indigenous to the Prefecture of Kagawa, where Nakata herself was trained.

Yet not only is Nakata’s technique impressive, it is her slick ability to create minimal and simple forms that accentuate and heighten the beauty of her lacquered patterns that reveal her great potential as an artist. Having been selected as a finalist for the Loewe Foundation’s Craft Prize in 2019, and with three public collections already to her name, Nakata’s recognition in the world of lacquer is quickly rising.

WorksWorks

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