Kintsugi, the Japanese art of golden repair, is an ancient art form that inspired one of our specialty wallcovering collections, Adorn.
In celebration of this new wallcovering collection, Adorn, the London Showroom hosted a Kintsugi Demonstration during London's Design Week. Guests were treated to an in-depth look at the history and beauty of Kintsugi. Artist Iku Nishikawa, a master of Kutsugi who specializes in ceramic and glassware repair, gave a brief history of the craft, demonstrated the technique, and presented a few beautiful art pieces.
WHAT IS KINTSUGI?
Kintsugi is the process by which broken ceramic pieces are mended using urushi, a highly prized Japanese lacquer that has been refined for over 7,000 years. Then the "glue" is dusted with powdered gold or other precious materials. Iku is highly skilled at using urushi and finishing pieces with gold or silver. The meticulous and time-intensive process results in a new piece that includes the damage as a part of the history of an object, and as something to celebrate rather than disguise.
Originally from Japan, Iku worked in Tokyo and Milan before moving to Oxford where she now practices this ancient art form. She also offers workshops in Japan, Italy, and Spain that focus on using traditional materials in conjunction with modern synthetic adhesives. When commissioned, Iku works with a variety of materials depending on a client's budget and the value of the pieces she is working on.
ADORN: FROM A PIECE OF ART TO THE WALL
The story of Adorn began more than two years ago and now has mesmerized the design world. (Read more about Adorn's design accolades here.) Inspired by the ancient Japanese art from of Kintsugi, Phillip Jeffries Adorn wallcovering is a large-scale design that focuses on golden repair and creating something stronger and more unique than originally existed. Adorn is crafted using our authentic paulownia wood veneer wallcovering, Floored as the ground. The authentic wood is sliced into thin veneers, dyed, cut, and hand laid for a modern twist on a classic panel look. Skilled artisans work in teams for hours on each panel. In the span of a week, they meticulously place more than 600 metallic leaves in an organic, linear design on pieces of authentic wood veneer. Then the expansive 6-panel design is pressed and laminated to perfection.
See the inherent beauty in a range of six glamorous and neutral metallic colorways shown in Adorn's digital brochure here.
Want to learn more about how Adorn wallcovering is made? Click here for the full artisanal story.