Echoes in Gold and Lacquer
Komatsu Shigeo
Through the timeless medium of gold and lacquer, Komatsu Shigeo transforms stillness into radiance. He continues Japan’s long tradition of urushi art and the intricate maki-e technique. His maki-e works speak not through extravagance but through calm precision. Every curve, every shimmer, feels measured yet alive, like a breath suspended between motion and rest. Komatsu’s artistry lies in his ability to reveal depth through restraint, distilling centuries of Aizu craftsmanship into forms. The result is not mere ornamentation, but a meditation on the enduring dialogue between hand, material, and time.
The Rhythm of Craft and Time
In Komatsu’s hands, urushi, the natural lacquer revered in Japan for centuries, becomes a living medium of patience. His creative process is an act of concentration, where Japanese aesthetics meet the refined artistry of the maki-e technique. Every stroke responds to the subtlest shifts in humidity and temperature, carrying the composure of long-trained intuition. The raised petals, luminous gold lines, and delicate gradations are not spontaneous gestures but moments of equilibrium, achieved through years of attunement to material and touch.
Eternal Grace of Aizu-e
Komatsu’s work continues the lineage of Aizu-e, the full-surface lacquer painting practice that marries disciplined form with expressive freedom. In his hands, branches unfurl with measured harmony, adapting seamlessly to the vessel’s shape as if grown there by nature’s own design. Drawing upon patterns from the late Edo period (1603–1868 CE), Komatsu carries forward their refined beauty with reverence, preserving the spirit of heritage in every line and detail. Through them, the ancient art of urushi and gold endures not as a relic, but as a living language of integrity, and the deliberate beauty of things made by hand.
Biography
Born in 1955 in Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Komatsu Shigeo graduated from the Crafts Department at Aizu Technical High School in 1974 and began training under renowned maki-e master Terui Kurato in 1977. He established his own studio in 1980. In 2011, he received the Aizu Wakamatsu City Skilled Workers Award for excellence in maki-e. As a Master of Traditional Craft, Komatsu devotes his life to preserving and carrying forward the legacy of Aizu-e, upholding its spirit of precision and refinement.
