Mingei of Japan

This was a major exhibition of Japanese folk art with a focus on living craftsmen. This exhibition presented nearly 400 selections, encompassing a great range of objects — baskets, furniture, implements, clothing, pottery, sculptures and votive paintings. These objects were made from all the materials of the earth — bent and lacquered wood, paper, stone, bamboo and rice straw. _MINGEI OF JAPAN_ also included the ceramics of Shôji Hamada, Kanjiro Kawai, and Tatsuzo Shimaoka; the textiles and textile design of Keisuke Serizawa, katazome, and yotsumoto; lacquer by Natsume; and articles of handmade paper by Eishiro Abe. This exhibition, which included both historical and contemporary works, bridged the old and the new, the unknown and the known and illustrated the intrinsic value of "mingei" as a living tradition.