UPCOMING EXHIBITION
Golden Treasures: Japanese Gold Lacquer Boxes
December 10, 2025 – February 6, 2026
We are delighted to invite you to our annual autumn exhibition of Japanese gold lacquers dating from the early 18th century to the present. The exhibition focuses on lacquer works from the modern period, 1910s—50s.
To learn more, click here.
RECENT ART FAIR
Design Miami
December 2 – 7, 2025
Booth G21
Convention Center Drive & 19th Street, Miami Beach
We are delighted to present an exceptional selection of Japanese art from the Taisho and early Showa eras (1910–1940) during this year’s Design Miami.
We will be showcasing a remarkable collection of bamboo basketry, an art form that flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, including masterworks by Tanabe Chikuunsai, Maeda Chikubōsai, and Iizuka Rōkansai.
The baskets will be complimented by a group of gold lacquer boxes and tea caddies, contemporary ceramics, and folding screens.
If you will be in Miami Beach during the fair, we would be delighted to welcome you to Booth G-21 to share in the appreciation of these extraordinary works!
To learn more, click here.
To learn more about the fair, click here.
PAST EXHIBITION
Radiant Bronze: The Timeless Art of Hatakeyama Koji
November 6 – 26, 2025
We are proud to present Radiant Bronze: The Timeless Art of Hatakeyama Koji, an exhibition of work by Japan’s leading master of metal art. Opening on November 6 and running through November 26, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience the meditative beauty and spiritual depth of Hatakeyama’s cast bronze vessels, which have captivated audiences across Japan and around the world.
Born in 1956 in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture—a region renowned for its centuries-old bronze-casting tradition—Hatakeyama has spent over four decades refining his practice. After graduating from the Department of Metalwork at nearby Kanazawa College of Arts and Crafts in 1980, he returned to his hometown to establish a studio where he continues to live and work. From 2017 to 2022, he also served as Professor of Metal Casting at Kanazawa College of Art, mentoring the next generation of Japanese metal artists.
Hatakeyama’s work is deeply rooted in history, drawing inspiration from ancient Mesopotamian bronze techniques while remaining unmistakably contemporary. He refers to bronze as “a material with memories of a thousand years,” and his reverence for its transformative power is evident in every piece. His signature creations, lidded bronze boxes ranging in size from about four to eleven inches, are minimalist and geometric in form yet rich in meaning. Although Japanese connoisseurs sometimes use them to store incense wood or powdered matcha tea for chanoyu (the “tea ceremony”), for Hatakeyama these vessels transcend function: “Every article I make should live,” he says, underscoring his belief in the spiritual vitality of objects.
Each of his creations begins by pouring molten bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) into a wooden mold, whose texture is transferred to the bronze surface, creating a tactile connection between material and process. Hatakeyama then uses modified versions of traditional Japanese patinating techniques, applying miso paste and vinegar to spark chemical reactions that result in earthy tones and abstract textures. These patterned and faceted surfaces evoke stylized landscapes—quiet meditations on time, place, and memory. Inside, the vessels are lined with meticulously applied gold or silver foil, symbolizing a radiant inner world untouched by darkness.
“Hatakeyama’s work invites contemplation,” says gallery director Erik Thomsen. “There’s a quiet power in his vessels—a dialogue between ancient tradition and modern sensibility, between outer texture and inner light. His pieces don’t just hold space; they hold meaning. Although modern in appearance, they resonate with many of the traditional works of art handled by Thomsen Gallery.”
The exhibition features twenty works that highlight the artist’s mastery of form and surface. Visitors will encounter vessels that seem to breathe with life, their patinas shifting subtly in the light, their interiors glowing with gold or silver. The installation is designed to encourage slow looking and reflection, offering a moment of stillness in a fast-paced world.
Professor Hatakeyama’s work has been exhibited widely, including at COLLECT in London, SOFA in New York, the National Design and Craft Gallery, Kilkenny (Ireland), the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh and the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. In 2012, his larger works were featured in a landmark exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Arts and Crafts in Tokyo.
His pieces are held in prestigious permanent collections such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum in London, the Musée Guimet in Paris, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and many institutions in Japan including the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
“Hatakeyama’s vessels are more than objects,” says Thomsen. “They are expressions of memory, spirit, and transformation. We are honored to bring his work to New York and invite our community to experience the quiet brilliance of his bronzes.”
A reception with the artist will be held on November 6, 2025 at our gallery.
To learn more, click here.
About the Gallery
Thomsen gallery, located in a townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, offers important Japanese paintings and works of art to collectors and museums worldwide. The gallery specializes in Japanese screens and scrolls; in early Japanese tea ceramics from the medieval through the Edo periods; in masterpieces of ikebana bamboo baskets; and in gold lacquer objects. It further specializes in post-war ink art and Gutai art as well as contemporary art by select artists, such as the internationally renowned Japanese ceramic artist Sueharu Fukami, the paper artist Kyoko Ibe, and the lacquer artist Yoshio Okada.
The gallery is owned by Erik and Cornelia Thomsen, who live and work in New York. Erik has been a dealer in Japanese art since 1981; born to Danish parents and raised in Japan, he is fluent in Japanese and was the first foreigner to apprentice to an art dealer in Japan. They have three children, Julia, Anna, and Georg.
