The courses and exhibitions of Meizon Takano introduce the delicate arts of the past, and combines tea, flowers, perfumes and paintings with modern life. Meizon Takano is dedicated to the concept of the Silk Road and culture, and promotes the development of tactile experience and environmental protection. For the past years, Meizon Takano emphasizes the continuous study in the technique and philosophy of ancient craft aesthetics! The institute focuses on the inspecting the obstacles that “instruments” and “objects” are facing in modern times. Meizon Takano strives to establish the “broad roads” that “inherit the classics” and “regenerate the trade economy.”
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EXHIBITION INFORMATION: | Ceramics was the most important popular commodity on the silk road and its demand peaked from the seventeenth to the twentieth century during the Age of Discovery and the industrial revolution. Based on maritime routes, we present styles across time and geographical regions. From utensils for royal families, custom-made exports, to everyday objects for the common people, we see the different cultures of ceramics and their amalgamation and evolution. The route in the East begins and ends in Japan. In addition to being examples of learning from materials and techniques of other countries, the works are meticulous culminations of Japanese taste. Originating in Japan’s millennia-old city, Kyoto ware is the culmination of various schools of ceramics and has seen successive generations of masters. With the collection in the Shoso-in, which has been accumulated and preserved since the Tang dynasty, the use of traditional patterns have continued and evolved to the present, while traditions and new ideas collide, becoming works of eternal beauty. After the Meiji Restoration, artists took inspiration from Western painting and applied it to the complex patterns we see in Kutani ware and Satsuma ware, which gained attention at the World Expo and became a fashion trend across Western countries. In addition, to continue the system of royal artisans and encourage outstanding artisans, “imperial artisan” were selected. In the trades of painting, lacquerware, textile, and metalwork, there were 79 artisans selected to produce bespoke products for the imperial family. Among them, only five worked in ceramics, which is a testament to their incredible skill. Meizon Art & Craft hopes to present the culture and history of Japanese ceramics with Taiwan’s satellite exhibitions. Through the sections based on class hierarchy, export, everyday use, and cultural styles, viewers can gaze into the prosperous past of ceramics from different perspectives. Our exhibition features imperial utensils produced by imperial artisans, including the seventeenth-century Japanese painted mortar, which was exported to the Netherlands, Suwa Sozan’s signature celadon, and Tozan Ito’s hybrid styles. Visitors will also see the works of Kiyomizu Rokubei, which began with Kiyomizu ware in Kyoto in the Edo period, the works of Seizan Kawamura, which focuses on everyday dining and natural landscape, the works of Uichi Shimizu, who is dedicated to continuing Kyoto ware, Miura Chikusen’s literati style of culture and talent, Yamamoto Josen’s straightforward style of the century-old Rinpa school, and Koubei-gama’s works inspired by Persian styles. By presenting this artisanal feast of Japanese ceramics, we hope to offer insight into the nature of craft and its spirit of sincerity, thus discovering more possibilities for the future of ceramic craft. |