São Paulo’s Japan House Exhibits Traditional and Technological Japan

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Two exhibitions at São Paulo’s Japan House will try to show viewers both a Japan firmly based on tradition and another Japan of new technology and wonder.

Combining contemporary design with traditional craftsmanship, the JAPAN 47 ARTESÃOS exhibit shows the work of forty-seven artists, most of them in their thirties and forties, using traditional millenary techniques to create utilitarian objects used on a daily basis in today’s Japan.

One artisan was chosen from each of the 47 districts in the country.

From the technique of producing Sendai glass objects out of molten sand from local rivers to using the metal hammering method known as Tankin, which dates back to the Yayoi period (300BC-300AD), these artists are passing on Japanese history through their art.

“Taking into account the history and atmosphere of each region, including traditional crafts and local industry, these artisans blend their own creativity and society’s needs in a balanced way,” says the exhibition’s curator, Japanese designer Kenmei Nagaoka.

According to Nagaoka, the selection of pieces intends to emphasize that design is not related to unbridled consumption, but rather, to the valuation of the quality objects that tell a story.

From traditional to technological, the space on Avenida Paulista is also hosting Fluidez (Fluidity), an exhibition of the movement of liquids which resemble the dynamics of living elements.

The work promises a new experience of immersion, capable of activating all the senses.
Nine pillars of water and metallized particles, each with a capacity of 500 litres each, form a synchrony between movement, music and colored lights which in turn creates an organic flow with intense energy and vitality.

“This show places the visitor in synch with the exhibition that is being seen and experienced. It is as if the rhythm of the water is able to move the sensitivity and emotions of the visitors, in an interesting and strong synergy between the environment and the body, the macro and the micro “, says Natasha Barzaghi Geenen, cultural director of Japan House São Paulo.

Japão 47 Artesãos: April 23 to July 17, 2019
Fluidez: April 23 to August 4, 2019
Where: JAPAN HOUSE São Paulo – Avenida Paulista, 52
When: Tuesday to Saturday: 10am to 8pm
Sundays and public holidays: 10am – 6pm

Free entrance