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WELCOME TO
CELINE MAKI-E
CELINE's special exhibition "CELINE MAKI-E" was held at the France Pavilion of the Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025 from April 13th to May 11th, 2025.
As a second phase of the Expo, which attracted around 850.000 visitors in one month, CELINE keeps the momentum alive through a special installation, presented in some of its Japanese boutiques: CELINE MIDOSUJI, OMOTESANDO, GINZA, AZABUDAI.
IN-STORE EVENT CELINE GINZA
Place : CELINE GINZA
Date : SEPTEMBER 16TH – OCTOBER 5TH
This travelling extension of the exhibition will showcase the fine Urushi Triomphe art pieces from lacquerware artists Hikoju Makie together with the three precious Triomphe handbags, developed specially by CELINE for the World Expo.
As a mirroring experience, two « Hands at Work » videos, by contemporary artist Soshi Nakamura, will allow visitors to contemplate the delicate savoir-faire behind both Hikoju Makie’s artists in the process of creating the Urushi pieces, together with CELINE’s leatherworkers crafting the Triomphe handbags.
SPECIAL CHARITY PROJECT
Due to multiple factors, the art of lacquerware tends to be threatened and therefore needs all kinds of support.
As a house deeply attached to craftsmanship and the preservation of traditions, CELINE is proud to support the Non-Profit Organization Ichikiro-No-Kai through a special donation program.
On one hand, a part of the benefits from the Triomphe precious handbags sold during the in-store exhibition events will be kept aside for supporting the NPO; while six exclusive charms have been designed and developed, entirely made to fund the organization. The charms are shaped as a plum flower, used widely in Japanese symbolism for its auspicious wish of continuity & longevity. It also recalls the motif engraved on the Triomphe Urushi art pieces and the one stamped inside the Triomphe handbags.
For both Triomphe handbags and charms, special packaging has been created, to highlight their uniqueness.
*Please inquire about the release date and stores for the charity items.
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PROFILE
NPO
ICHIKIRO-NO-KAI
THE CURRENT SITUATION OF JAPANESE LACQUER IS VERY SEVERE AS A RESULT OF THE AGING OF THE LACQUER SCRAPERS, THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING SUCCESSORS, AND THE DRASTIC DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF LACQUER TREES DUE TO THE EXHAUSTION AND DEVASTATION OF AGRICULTURE IN THE MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF JAPAN. THUS, THE AMOUNT OF DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED LACQUER HAS BEEN DECREASING YEAR BY YEAR, TO REACH ONLY 1 TO 2% OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT USED IN THE COUNTRY.
IN ADDITION TO THE CREATION OF NEW PIECES, JAPANESE LACQUER IS ALSO REQUIRED FOR THE REPAIR OF NATIONAL TREASURES AND IMPORTANT CULTURAL PROPERTIES. SINCE THE SUPPLY OF LACQUER IS UNSTABLE, THERE IS A NEED TO NOT ONLY SOLVE THE PROBLEM AT HAND, BUT ALSO CONFRONT THE ISSUE OVER A LONG SPAN OF TIME. IN A FEW WORDS, BOTH THE QUANTITY AND THE QUALITY OF LACQUER MUST BE IMPROVED.
IN 1997, 17 LACQUER ARTISTS WHO FELT A SENSE OF CRISIS ABOUT THE CONTINUED DECLINE IN LACQUER TAPPERS, FOUNDED THE ICHIKIRO ASSOCIATION.
SINCE THEN, ICHIKIRO-NO-KAI HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN ACTIVITIES SUCH AS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A LACQUER TREE PATRONAGE SYSTEM, A LACQUER TREE PLANTING PROJECT AND THE DOCUMENTATION OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS OF LACQUER SCRAPING TOOLS, WHICH ARE IN DANGER OF DISAPPEARING.
ICHIKIRO-NO-KAI HAS BEEN AN NPO SINCE 2013 AND IS PLANNING TO EXPAND THE SCOPE OF ITS ACTIVITIES. WITH THIS PARTNERSHIP, CELINE HOPES TO SUPPORT THE GROWING OF MORE LACQUER TREES THROUGHOUT JAPAN AND THE TRANSMISSION OF CENTURIES-OLD TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES RELATED TO LACQUER ART AND LACQUER SCRAPING.
CELINE GINZA
COMING SOON
”CELINE MAKI-E" CONTENTS from the Expo will be presented at boutiques below.
CELINE AZABUDAI December 5th - December 28th
TRIOMPHE URUSHI
BY HIKOJU MAKIE
Under a special partnership with CELINE, Hikoju Makie created three Urushi lacquer "Triomphe" art pieces for the Osaka-Kansai World Expo 2025.
Japanese crafstmanship meets the Triomphe, symbol of the parisian house, as a tribute to the respect for heritage and transmission shared by artists and artisans everywhere in the world. Linked together, urushi lacquerware art pieces from Hikoju Makie, and exclusive CELINE handbags, connect elements from a rich history of techniques and know-how to our contemporary times.
GOLD TRIOMPHE URUSHI - Natural laquered urushi in katsura wood, natural lacquer, taka maki-e lacquer & gold leaf finishing with bamboo, pine & plum motifs.
BLACK TRIOMPHE URUSHI - Natural laquered urushi in katsura wood, natural lacquer & hira maki-e finishing decorated with bamboo, pine & plum motifs.
VERMILLON TRIOMPHE URUSHI - Natural laquered urushi in katsura wood, natural lacquer & hira maki-e finishing decorated with bamboo, pine & plum motifs.
Together, they express the most traditional values of the japanese culture: vermillon red for resurrection and rebirth, black for elegance and formality, and gold for sunshine and nature.
HANDS AT WORK
TRIOMPHE URUSHI ART PIECES
Directed by Soshi Nakamura
FILMED IN HIKOJU MAKIE WORKSHOP IN KANAZAWA (JAPAN)
PROFILE
LAQUER ARTIST GROUP
HIKOJU MAKIE
Hikoju Makie is a group of Japanese artists, specialized in the production of traditional lacquered pieces and artworks, based in Wajima (Ishikawa prefecture).
Lacquerware has existed for thousands of years, used as a tool to interconnect elements from japanese traditions and culture. Hikoju Makie incorporates contemporary sense and humor into their work, conveying important thoughts left by ancestors for posterity.
The group, founded in 2004, discovered the singularity and ethnicity of Japan’s identity through folk philosophy, classical literature, and the wisdom and reflexion from daily life rituals. the mastery of lacquer, in the hands of the craftsmen, receives the role of messenger, to unite it to other art forms and new dimensions. As a bridge between past, present and future, Hikoju Makie is taking various measures to ensure lacquer art will be handed down to later generations, wether by working with different materials and mediums, collaborating with different industries or engaging in sustainable projects.
Various pieces from the collective are permanently featured in the museum of lacquer arts (Münster, Germany) as well as in the Victoria & Albert museum (London, UK), while temporary exhibitions included, amongst others: the Pola Museum of Art (Hakone, Japan), Tainan City cultural festival (Taiwan), Bahrain National Museum, Gallery 27 (London), Museum of Urushi Art (Wajima, Japan), museum & art gallery of the university of hong kong, suntory museum of art (Tokyo).
Master Takashi Wakamiya received several awards such as the Japan Ishikawa International Urushi grand prize (2014), the Japan Design Prize (2015) and was appointed japan cultural envoy by the agency for cultural affairs (2014).
INTERVIEW WITH TAKASHI WAKAMIYA
A special interview with Takashi Wakamiya, the producer and founder of Hikoju Makie for 20 years.
He speaks about what he wanted to convey through his collaboration with Celine and what is necessary to pass on traditional crafts and techniques to the future.
THE TRIOMPHE BAG BY CELINE ATELIERS
Developed exclusively for the Osaka Expo, the three Triomphe bags showcased are colored in black, red & gold, recalling the urushi art pieces built specially by Hikoju Makie.
Made of precious leathers, they are lined on the inside with lambskin and decorated with a gold-stamped plum motif, used widely in Japanese symbolism for its auspicious wish of continuity and longevity. As a testimony of their excusivity, each bag receives an unique number, and also gold-stamped on the interior lining.
HANDS AT WORK
CELINE TRIOMPHE BAG
Directed by Soshi Nakamura
FILMED IN CELINE ATELIERS IN RADDA IN CHIANTI (ITALY)
PROFILE
VISUAL ARTIST
SOSHI NAKAMURA
Born in Kumamoto prefecture in 1991, his interdisciplinary practice includes flat works, sculpture, sound, and performance, with a focus on video installations. He explores what makes us human by interweaving hidden narratives and relationships between changing phenomena, transient moments, and ethereal subjects.
In his recent work, he has been interested in contemporary spirituality residing in intangible subjects such as Japan’s classic noh plays, “lost” films, group performances, and artificial intelligence.
He is also part of “MANTLE”, a visual art collective with artist Shu Isaka, examining natural phenomena and the global environment over time and their relationship to human activities and the present.
Major exhibitions and performances include, amongst others: "Echoes" (Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, Kumamoto, 2025), "Dance in the Haze" (The 5th Floor, Tokyo, 2023), "Pineal Gland Sashimi" (United Art Museum, Wuhan, 2024), "End of Summer" (Yale Union, Portland, 2019), as a mantle "DXP-Towards the Next Interface-" (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, 2023).
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