The Minneapolis Institute of Art has organized the first comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Japanese lacquer sculpture. On view from October 7, 2017, through June 24, 2018, “Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture” features the work of 16 artists who show the evolution of lacquerware from bowls, cups, boxes, and other utilitarian objects to large-scale works that are conceptually innovative and emphasize lacquer’s sheen and lustrous beauty. The works are drawn from the Clark Collections at Mia, the only collection in the world to have substantial representation of this new form. “The idea for this exhibition was born after several art-hunting trips to Japan in 2011 and 2012, during which Clark Center founder Bill Clark and I encountered and commissioned lacquer sculptures,” said Andreas Marks, PhD, head of the Japanese and Korean Art Department and director of the Clark Center for Japanese
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