Katazome Today: Migrations of a Japanese Art

July 1, 2023 – January 28, 2024

Katazome (rice-paste resist dyeing using stencils) is one of the most important textile processes in Japan, used for centuries to dye kimono.  Katazome Today: Migrations of a Japanese Art examines the contemporary evolution of katazome and the metamorphosis of the process through globalization. Diving into the practices of a select group of contemporary artists, the exhibition also shares the many ways these artists honor and carry on the traditions of the technique through their varying interpretations.

Artists included in the exhibition: Akemi Nakano Cohn (Chicago), Melinda Heal (Canberra, Australia), Fumiyo Imafuku (Japan), Cheryl Lawrence (Washington), John Marshall (California), Yuken Teruya (New York/Berlin), and Mika Toba (Japan).

Katazome Today: Migrations of a Japanese Art was organized by the Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, Washington
Amy Chaloupka, Whatcom Museum Curator of Art
Seiko Purdue, Western Washington University Professor of Fiber and Fabrics

This exhibition at the Boise Art Museum has been made possible in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the Idaho Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Idaho Humanities Council logo in green and blue font

Slide Cheryl Lawrence, Snowstorm (diptych), 2011, katazome with indigo pigment on silk; 44 x 35 in. each panel. Courtesy of the artist. Slide Mika Toba, The other side of the Scarf, 2005, silk, 4 ft 7.5 in x 6 ft.
Courtesy of the artist
Slide Yuken Teruya, Parade From Far Far Away, 2014, bingata technique on linen; 15 x 535 in. (44.5 feet long). Courtesy of the artist and Piero Atchugarry Gallery, Miami. Slide Fumiyo Imafuku, Cycle of Time – Memory of Place (detail), 2014, cotton, silk organza, katazome, original technique, chemical dyes, 13 x 26 ft. Photo by Makoto Yano. Courtesy of the artist. Slide Akemi Nakano Cohn, Cycle of Renewal #4, 2014, Japanese rice paper dyed with indigo and natural dyes and Kakishibu, 28 x 50 x 7 in. Courtesy of the artist. Slide Melinda Heal, Beautiful Plants of Canberra (detail), 2022,
katazome-dyed kozo washi, natural pigments, 12.5 x 10 in. each.
Courtesy of the artist.

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