Encounter between Enamel and Art

Being strong and beautiful, enamelware is widely used in our daily lives. Takara standard’s “high-grade enamel”, produced through its proprietary technology, is a durable material with a high level of integration and adhesion of glass and steel, which is achieved by baking the glaze on the minutely uneven surfaces of steel sheets.
As a project to explore the possibilities of enamel as a material and a medium for expression through co-creation with artists, in 2022, Takara standard launched collaboration with contemporary artist Satoshi Kawata. This year’s “Osaka Art & Design” will see the exhibition of the project’s work for the second consecutive year.

Integration and Expansion of Industrial Technology and Artistic Expression

“Kakitori” is an enamel decoration technique based on artisanal handwork. This technique involves spraying a thick layer of glaze onto metal sheets and then partially scraping off the sheet surfaces before baking in order to make the surfaces uneven. Kawata uses the “kakitori” technique on Takara standard enamel to add a dynamic and organic expression to his work, thereby breathing life to it.
In November 2023, the project completed a 7.7-meter wide enamel mural titled “Learning from evergreens”, using ink-jet printing and the “kakitori” technique. This work is permanently exhibited at the entrance of the Kyoto Branch of Takara standard.

Experience the Delicacy and Beauty of Enamel

The concept of the work to be displayed at this exhibition is “An extraordinary space created by combining enamel and art.” This new work is an enamel-based reinterpretation of “Taro no iro to katachi × Public”, which was unveiled at the Ceramic Museum Gallery at Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in 2023.

“Taro” refers to Taro Okamoto, who energetically created public artworks and designs for mass-produced products from the 1950s onward with the aim of popularizing art. Considering the presence of the 20th century avant-gardist and his relationship to the architecture, Kawata created the fresco mural as a new interpretation of Taro’s works. At “Osaka Art & Design 2025”, the mural will be reinterpreted with enamel. For the upcoming exhibition, the original mural was digitized and baked onto an enameled sheet, using ink-jet printing and the “kakitori” technique, to create a 2.4-meter-high arch-shaped artwork.

The Takashimaya Osaka Store, where the new work will be exhibited on the sixth floor, also has Taro Okamoto’s mosaic tile painting “Dance” on display on the seventh floor. With the two floors connected with an escalator, you will witness a powerful interaction between the two artworks with a massive impact; this fantastic encounter with Taro Okamoto is also one of the highlights of this exhibition. In addition, the original fresco mural will also be exhibited at the exhibition “Re:Human—The New Human” Condition at the Semba Excel Building in Osaka City, which you can see during the same period as Osaka Art & Design 2025. Experience the beauty and charm of a combination of enamel and art that features brilliant colors and a delicate and unique expression created with the “kakitori” technique.