Notsu Kanon (born 1997, Japan)

Kanon Notsu, who studied at Kyoto City University of Arts, where she earned a degree in crafts with a specialization in urushi in 2020, followed by a master’s degree in lacquer in 2023, has developed a sculptural practice shaped by the observation of natural forms and the silent metamorphoses of living things. For her, lacquer is not merely a protective surface, but a material drawn from nature, capable of optical depth, luminous vibration, and transformation.

In Nishiki, the artist constructs a light form from a polystyrene foam core covered with hemp and then built up with multiple layers of urushi lacquer. The volume opens like a dark corolla, composed of supple, taut planes whose edges catch the light. Beneath the black and translucent red surface, silver leaf creates effects of depth and iridescence, evoking the term nishiki, associated with precious brocades and the shifting brilliance of color.

At the threshold between the vegetal, the textile, and the mineral, the work seems animated by an inner growth. Its forms evoke petals, membranes, wings, or fragments of landscape all at once. Through this interplay of lightweight structure, deep sheen, and organic movement, Kanon Notsu asserts a contemporary vision of urushi, in which the lacquer tradition becomes a language of metamorphosis and light.