Western Aesthetics and Japanese Artisanship

Photo Left: Insects Jewelry by Oji Ozawa
Photo Right: Shadow Box “Ukiyoe New York, Times Square“ (Painting by Koji Ohashi, Shadow Box by Kanae Ohashi) 2023, Paper/Shadow Box

The Nippon Gallery is pleased to present a one-day exhibition of introducing modern jewelry and shadow box works.

Originally treasured in Europe and other Western nations, the modern jewelry – adorned with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and other precious stones – and 3-D shadow box craftwork became widely popular throughout Japan with the dawn of the Meiji era. While they fall into two radically different creative genres, jewelry and craft-making, both require meticulous handwork, the area in which the Japanese are known to excel. As a result, jewelry design and shadow box craftwork have since become popular hobby choices among the art-loving Japanese public.

In “Western Art and Japanese Artisanship,” we delve into the charm of Wa (Japanese) sensitivity, the anchor of the current worldwide popularity of Japanese culture, through artworks by three artists – Ouji Ozawa, the maker of super-detailed handmade jewelry, Kanae Ohashi, the world’s foremost shadow box artist as well as her son and an illustrator, Koji Ohashi – that combine Western aesthetics with Japan’s traditional artisanship and its latest popular culture trends.