Kenji TOKI 土岐謙次 graduated in 1994 from Urushi lacquering at the Department of Crafts, Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan and obtained his master's degree in 1996. He lectured the Urushi lacquering at Kyoto City University of Arts from 1996 to 1998, he graduated from Doctoral course in 2013.Toki exhibited his works in the galleries and museums in Japan and overseas from 1998, namely INAX Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, The Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College in Surrey, UK and Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France. His art creations are collected by Kyoto Prefectural Education Center in Kyoto, Japan, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA, Victoria & Albert Museum in London, UK, Canadian Museum of History in Quebec, Canada and Museo de Arte Moderno La Casa de Japan in San Isidro, Argentina.

​

Toki is an artist who creates without the boundary between tradition and innovation. He applies Kanshitsu during his creation, a traditional method applying urushi tree sap to the structure of hemp fibers. The resulting material is then laser-cut and the parts are connected using three-dimensional software and structures developed by Toki himself.

 

“In Japan, urushi is understood in the context of crafts, and there is a tendency to emphasize the artistic skills of craftsmen and the artist's aesthetic sense, but I am more interested in the strength of the material image of Urushi itself. ”