Kohei Ukai
Untitled
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
17 x 17 x 106 cm
6.69 x 6.69 x 41.73 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 8222
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
17 x 17 x 106 cm
6.69 x 6.69 x 41.73 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 8222
Fusion (NA), 2022
Zelkova wood, hemp, urushi
60 x 35 x 23 cm
23.62 x 13.78 x 9.06 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 7964
Zelkova wood, hemp, urushi
60 x 35 x 23 cm
23.62 x 13.78 x 9.06 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 7964
Untitled
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
7 x 85 x 52 cm
2.76 x 33.46 x 20.47 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 8221
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
7 x 85 x 52 cm
2.76 x 33.46 x 20.47 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 8221
Untitled
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
48 x 30 x 28 cm
18.9 x 11.81 x 11.02 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 8219
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
48 x 30 x 28 cm
18.9 x 11.81 x 11.02 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 8219
Untitled
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
7 x 77 x 50 cm
2.76 x 30.31 x 19.69 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 8220
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
7 x 77 x 50 cm
2.76 x 30.31 x 19.69 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 8220
Untitled
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
48 x 30 x 28 cm
18.9 x 11.81 x 11.02 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 0
Camphor wood, hemp, Urushi
48 x 30 x 28 cm
18.9 x 11.81 x 11.02 in
Enquiries about work INV Nbr. 0
Japanese, born in 1993 in Aichi
Lives and works in Kanazawa, Japan
Kohei Ukai resolutely choses to work with Urushi, a tree sap that plays an important role in protecting scars on a tree. He takes advantage of its unique properties, such as serving as a natural glue or paint, because they allow him to leave a trace by hand. Urushi doesn’t have an identifying shape of its own. Instead, it acquires form by merging with a tree. This interesting symbiotic relationship among the materials is what fascinates Kohei Ukai; he describes the process as going back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness, encountering unintentional forms in the repetition of an act as simple as painting and polishing.