About the Artist
Mitsuhiko Takada
Maki-e lacquer artist — bespoke works in gold, silver, and light.
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Biography
Short biography
A short biography — birth year, base and studio, the path into lacquer work, years active, training and lineage — is being prepared with the artist and will appear here once confirmed.
Career timeline
Awards & exhibitions
Awards and honours, selected exhibitions, notable commissions cleared for public mention, and the artist's base will be listed here once confirmed with the artist.
In the artist's words
An artist statement is being prepared with the artist. It will appear here, in his own words, once confirmed.
The workshop & materials
Maki-e is built from a small number of natural materials worked slowly by hand. The foundation is urushi — the refined sap of the lacquer tree — applied in thin layers and hardened in a warm, humid environment rather than simply left to dry.
Onto the fresh lacquer the design is drawn, and fine metal powders — gold, silver, and coloured alloys, graded from coarse to near-dust — are sprinkled grain by grain before the surface sets. The work is then sealed, ground back, and polished through many cycles until the image lies within the lacquer rather than upon it.
Tools are few and largely traditional: bamboo and animal-hair brushes, powder tubes, and the polishing materials the craft has long relied on. The pace is set by the lacquer, not the maker.
Further detail on the artist's own studio and materials — to be confirmed with the artist.
Concept visual
Concept visual Concept visual. Actual studio/process photography to be added.
Concept visual
Concept visual Concept visual. Actual studio/process photography to be added.
Selected Works
See the work itself
The clearest introduction to the artist is the work. The gallery gathers selected maki-e pieces and past commission references.
Commissions
Commission a piece of your own
A limited number of private commissions are accepted each year. Begin an inquiry and we will talk through the object, the motif, and what is possible. International correspondence, estimates, and logistics are coordinated by Genji Atelier.