Onishi Gallery, specializing in Koegi (contemporary craft art from Japan), is proud to present an exhibition at our new Upper East Side Gallery. Featuring work by six leading artists working in a range of traditional media, Koegi and Art will run from November 8 until December 20.

Koegi refers to works made using materials and methods that have stood the test of time, reflecting uncompromising dedication to technical perfection and a search for new forms of expression. Both our Salon Art + Design booth and our special gallery show will highlight the growing role of Koegi in contemporary Western lifestyle and global art and design.

This exhibition also supports the mission of Koegi USA, a new not-for-profit established with the goal of raising the reputation of Japanese traditional arts and culture outside Japan by holding exhibitions and cultural events at major museums in the US and Europe.

The six artists highlighted in our gallery exhibition are David Stanley Hewett (b. 1967), Konno Tomoko (b. 1967), Noguchi Ken (b. 1982), Onihira Keiji (b. 1973), Rusu Aki (b. 1976), and Tanaka Terukazu (b. 1945).

Hewett, an American living in Japan, works in the medium of finest Japanese gold leaf applied to canvas or wood, preserving and re-imagining a heritage of gorgeous decoration with its roots in elite samurai culture. Konno makes organic, otherworldly porcelain forms that are both colorful and grotesque, inspiring conflicting feelings of aesthetic delight and existential dread. Noguchi Ken—showing in our gallery for the first time—combines cotton strings with layer after layer of urushi (the sap of the Japanese lacquer tree) to form black, mountain-like sculptures.

Onihira, a native of Wajima, a center of traditional lacquer art struck by a devastating earthquake on New Year’s Day 2024, uses maki-e (sprinkled precious metal powders) and inlay of shell to depict celestial phenomena on lacquer boxes. Employing industrial iron-processing techniques, Rusu creates powerful sculpture that reflects the inherent qualities of one of the planet's most abundant metals. Tanaka, a former artist in residence at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, makes boxes from a combination of silver, copper, and Japan’s unique traditional alloys.