Installation view of Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (March 2, 2024–January 11, 2026)

Zoom Webinar
Contemporary Japanese Metalwork in the Shirley Z Johnson Collection
Monday, January 20, 2025 at 5pm (EST)

Japanese Art Society of America is pleased to host their upcoming live Zoom webinar Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork from the Shirley Z. Johnson Collection, presented by Dr. Sol Jung on January 20. The talk will examine examples of contemporary Japanese metalwork currently on view in the exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.

Contemporary Japanese metalworking breathes life into traditional methods that have been passed down and practiced over generations. The history of Japanese metalworking evolved over two millennia, through cross-cultural exchange and internal innovation. Techniques unique to Japan flourished as metalworkers created armaments, Buddhist ornaments, and vessels used in Japanese tea practice.

In this talk, Dr. Sol Jung will examine examples of contemporary Japanese metalwork currently on view in the Smithsonian’s exhibition. The exhibition focuses on the technique of tankin (鍛金; hammering) through metalworks that came to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art as part of the bequest of the late Shirley Z. Johnson (1940–2021), a distinguished lawyer, philanthropist, and former board member of the NMAA. Shirley Z. Johnson’s passion for contemporary Japanese metalwork and her visionary gift have made the National Museum of Asian Art home to the largest collection of such works in the United States.

Sol Jung joined the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in 2021 as the inaugural Shirley Z. Johnson assistant curator of Japanese art. She oversees the museum’s collection of prehistoric to contemporary Japanese ceramics, lacquerware, metalwork and textiles. Jung received her B.A. with distinction in History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University.

To register for this Zoom webinar, click here.