Project Overview

For Sanya Kantarovsky’s solo exhibition at Taka Ishii Gallery Kyoto in April 2023, thé‑En collaborated on the transformation of the artist’s watercolor painting into an obi-width tapestry. The work was woven on a loom traditionally used for kimono and obi fabrics, bringing contemporary art into direct dialogue with centuries-old Japanese textile practice. Source

Background

The piece was handwoven using the traditional Tsuzure-ori technique, in which each thread is plucked by hand with the weaver’s nails. The mushroom motif was rendered through Japanese embroidery, while the silk yarns were dyed with natural materials including moss, leaves, flowers, mud, and fungi. Over time, the colors of the work will continue to shift, embodying a living sense of impermanence aligned with the spirit of wabi-sabi. Source

A further layer of the work incorporated Hikihaku, an ancient Nishijin technique in which lacquer, silver, gold, and platinum foils—combined with natural minerals and plant materials—are applied to washi paper, cut into fine threads, and woven into the textile. In this case, the foils were vintage materials over 50 years old, now rare both in substance and in the skill required to handle them. The finished work was later shown at Art Basel with Taka Ishii Gallery in June 2023. Source

Process

This project sits at the exact point where thé‑En’s philosophy becomes most visible. Japanese technique was not used here to frame art from the outside. It became part of the work’s inner language.

The process required translation across mediums, disciplines, and time. A watercolor became textile. A contemporary artist’s visual world entered the logic of Nishijin weaving. Embroidery, dye, loom, foil, and handwork all had to serve not a reproduction, but a transformation. What emerged was not documentation of an image, but a new work with its own material life.

Bringing the Work into Space

Although created in an exhibition context, this project speaks directly to thé‑En’s wider approach to space. We are interested in works that hold artistic presence while remaining deeply material—works that alter how a room is felt. Textile, when treated at this level, is no longer surface alone. It becomes weight, light absorption, tactility, memory.

This is why we do not separate Japanese craftsmanship from contemporary spatial life. At its strongest, it does not illustrate heritage. It creates new presence.

Closing Statement

This collaboration shows what becomes possible when contemporary art and traditional Japanese making are allowed to meet with full seriousness. The result is neither decorative craft nor abstract concept, but a work with cultural depth, material intelligence, and lasting presence. Source