The exhibition Bottega Ghianda e Hinoki Kogei. Ebanisteria tra Italia e Giappone (Bottega Ghianda and Hinoki Kogei. Fine woodworking and cabinetmaking in Italy and Japan), from 1 to 8 November 2016, at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Tokyo, juxtaposed the work of two masters who are at the very top of the art of fine woodworking: Pierluigi Ghianda and Chuzo Tozawa.

The exhibit design was by architect Michele De Lucchi. The show shone a light on the links between the Italian tradition of fine ebanisteria, in connection with contemporary design, and Japan’s woodworking tradition born of an aestethic culture which has affected our own sense of modernity.

The 14 Bottega Ghianda pieces on show (which are still being crafted, with the same magisterial skills, by Bottega Ghianda) have represented the heritage of Pierluigi Ghianda within the framework of the Japanese exhibition. The exhibition also hosted a new piece, designed by Michele De Lucchi and crafted by the same artisans, creating a symbolic link between Bottega Ghianda’s past and future. The same pieces were also part of an exhibition at La Triennale – Villa Reale di Monza (9 Oct. – 27 Nov. 2016), which was focused on Pierluigi Ghianda.

Eleven more fine pieces, by Japanese artist Chuzo Tozawa, were on show in Tokyo. Tozawa, a purveyor to Japan’s Imperial Household and the founder of the Hinoki Kogei workshop, is recognised in the world as one of the greatest masters of fine woodworking.

The exhibition, organised under the auspices of La Triennale di Milano and the Italian Embassy in Japan, took place in the framework of the initiatives for the Tokyo Design Week and the 16th Week of the Italian Language in the World, which for 2016 was themed around “The Italian Language and Creativity: Brands and Costumes, Fashion and Design.”

© Photo Leo Pellegatta