Exhibition place：Special Exhibition Hall, CNSM

Exhibition time：2014.10 - 2014.12

In this time of amazing technological developments, contemporary artists and artisans are tapping into ancient knowledge and skills. Their works reflect personal emotion, social and environmental awareness, cultural values, and technological innovation. Their creative explorations include a wide range of forms, surfaces,and shapes through various media, such as dyeing, painting, weaving, stitching, printing, laser etching, heat transfer, and vacuum coating of metal onto fabric. These artists exist on the edge of a continuum connecting them to the ancient practice of the dyer’s art, an invaluable cultural heritage that can still be accessed for inspiration and mastery of skills.

This exhibition shares exciting examples of contemporary art and design—fashion applications, artistic painterly expressions, conceptual and sculptural statements, and architectural and industrial designs. What unifies them as adriving force in the creative field of surface design is their enthusiasm for the possibilities inherent in compression resist and their fascination with the idea that cloth holds the memory of action performed on it.

The spontaneity, mystery, and serendipitous effects of shibori and ikat continue to inspire new generations of artists, artisans, and designers around the world. Combining fascination with the possibilities of modern technology with knowledge of ancient skills and respect for the innovations of their forebears, the artists in this exhibition are empowering their own creative processes. Many of them collaborate and inspire one another despite their different languages and diverse cultural roots. We hope that the exchange and exploration of difference at this international forum will strengthen the vitality of their separate traditions and stimulate new discoveries.

Curator

Yoshiko Iwamoto WADA