ASIA WEEK NEW YORK EXHIBITION
KOGEI Exhibition: Metalwork and Lacquerware
March 19 – April 3, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 19, 5-8pm
Special AWNY Hours: March 19-27, 10am-5pm (otherwise by appointment)
We are delighted to announce a special event celebrating Asia Week NY, New York’s annual festival of Asian art. KOGEI Exhibition: Metalwork and Lacquerware—featuring works by leading Japanese artists including several designated as “Living National Treasures”—will be on view from March 19 to April 3, 2026.
KOGEI Exhibition: Metalwork and Lacquerware not only presents contemporary masterpieces shaped by centuries of tradition but also serves as the curtain-raiser for a major exhibition project scheduled to tour leading U.S. museums from 2027.
Visitors to our Upper East Side gallery in the historic Sidney Ripley mansion on 79th Street will encounter an extraordinary display of works by masters of two of Japan’s most distinctive craft disciplines.
Metalwork specialists transform gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and unique Japanese alloys through techniques such as casting, chiseling, hammering, and overlay. Bending hard, unyielding materials to their creative will, they produce masterworks of unequaled grace and refinement.
Equally compelling are the lacquerware pieces, born from the artistic potential of urushi, the sap of the lacquer tree. Contemporary lacquer artists work with delicately carved bases of paulownia, cherrywood, cypress, and other timbers, patiently applying, drying, and polishing multiple layers of lacquer. These lustrous surfaces become canvases for decoration in precious metals and shell, marrying natural beauty with meticulous craftsmanship.
Both groups of artists share an unwavering commitment to traditional skills and materials, coupled with a bold spirit of innovation—qualities that define the essence of KOGEI, a uniquely Japanese phenomenon occupying a distinctive position at the intersection of “Craft” and “Art” in the Western tradition.
We invite you to seize this rare opportunity to experience the timeless beauty of KOGEI—a living heritage that continues to inspire contemporary design and enrich global lifestyles.
To learn more, click here.
RECENTLY CLOSED EXHIBITION
Heated Colors, Hammered Forms: Female Metal Artists of Japan
January 13 – February 27, 2026
We are proud to present Heated Colors, Hammered Forms: Female Metal Artists of Japan, an exhibition highlighting the metalwork of women. Our female metal artists have triumphed in a field of kogei traditionally dominated by men as it requires physical strength and is closely tied to samurai culture. Featuring Osumi Yukie, Oshiyama Motoko, and Hagino Noriko, the exhibition showcases masterful works in gold, silver, platinum, copper, lead, and distinctive Japanese alloys. Through techniques such as casting, chiseling, and hammering, these artists unite individual expression and time-honored craftsmanship.
To learn more about each of these extraordinary artists, click here.
About the Gallery
Since its opening in 2005, Onishi Gallery has featured contemporary Japanese artists who work in a range of media, including ceramics, metalwork, lacquer, glass, sculpture and painting. These artists are united in their common embrace of tradition in the creative process, and they are distinct in their exquisite and diverse modes of expression. Onishi Gallery merges the past with the present through the presentation of historically rich explorations of traditional art forms and ambitions experimentations in new formats in the center of the international contemporary art scene in New York City.
The Japanese Government has designated several artists that Onishi Gallery represents as Preservers of Important Intangible Cultural Properties, more commonly known as “Living National Treasures.” The Minister of Culture considers locality, tradition and the perpetuation of historic techniques when awarding this title to artists. Once an artist is recognized as a Living National Treasure, their profile publicized on a national and global level, dramatically increasing the value of their work. Many of these artists have works that are included in the permanent collections of major museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Worcester Museum of Art. The system aims to not only celebrate and preserve the historic artistic traditions of Japan, but challenge living artists to continuously improve and incorporate their own individual style while still mastering their craft.
