Int’l lacquer exhibition held in Kunming

The news was updated on June 3, 2019. 

The 5th International Lacquerware Exhibition (Yunnan province, China) opened on May 29 in Kunming. It is jointly held by Yunnan Provincial Museum and Tianxue Lacquerware Art Academy of Yunnan. 

Themed “coming from Hemudu,” the exhibition sees 100 lacquer art pieces from China, the US, the UK, France, Japan and Korea on display this year. The event will last until June 9, with free admission for Kunming citizens. 

A number of “fusion lacquer artworks” hybridized with wood, cloth, porcelain, clay, feather, metal or even glass have come into sight. Most of them are made by artists with international fame, including the combing Dai girl by Qiao Shiguang, wishing boat by Onishi Nagatoshi, and the tray by Kim Sungsoo.

The exhibition calls for the use of natural lacquer material, as a means to promote the ideas of green life, health, and environmental protection.

Those lacquer artists from Japan, Korea, France and the US will arrive in Kunming on June 9 to attend a symposium, which covers topics such as the application of green lacquer material, fashion and lacquer, lacquer in modern art, and so forth.

Lacquer Exhibition in Kunming

The lacquer arts in Yunnan province, marked by some distinctive features, can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). 

A group of lacquer works made by the Yi minority people hundreds of years ago are now collected by the Palace Museum of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

“Yunnan’s lacquer and textile craftsmanship are the best in China,” according to Shen Defu, a writer of the Ming Dynasty who lived about 400 years ago. Lacquer artisans also held a special position in the history of Yunnan.

Lacquer Exhibition in Kunming

Lacquer Exhibition in Kunming

Lacquer Exhibition in Kunming