Hosted by The Nippon Club July 13 – August 4 and by Shibui August 10 – September 30

As part of a celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the first Japanese diplomatic delegation to New York, Dane Owen and David Jackson of SHIBUI have curated a show that demonstrates “how TANSU chests evolved along with the social, technological and political changes in Japan over the last 150 years”

NEW YORK  May 17  2010  — The first diplomatic delegation of Japanese to arrive in New York comprised eighty Samurai diplomats and created one of the biggest spectacles of the time, on June 16, 1860.

One hundred fifty years later The NIPPON CLUB, the West 57th Street social and cultural club established in 1905 “to tighten the unity of the Japanese community and to develop a better relationship with the American People” is hosting a number of events to commemorate this historic development.

One summer exhibition, “TANSU: The Cabinetry Heritage of Japan” at The Nippon Club will be on view between July 13 and August 4 when co-curators Dane Owen and David Jackson show 20 important examples of Japanese TANSU chests that “define Japan’s cabinetry heritage, and reflect on 150 years of Japan’s economic expansion and influence.”  A special lecture in Kaidan Dansu, Tansu step chests, will be given by David Jackson.

It is altogether fitting to use TANSU chests to illustrate the cabinetry heritage of Japan.

David Jackson says, “This exhibit shows how Tansu evolved along with the social, technological and political changes over the past 150 years, and how Tansu played a subtle inspirational role in design almost from the time the first chests appeared in America.”

Co-curator, Dane Owen says, “Since the middle of the 19th century images of Tansu chests have captivated western audiences. From an 1886 book “Japanese Homes and their Surroundings,” to the architecture of Greene and Greene to contemporary interior design, Americans have shown a real fascination with Tansu.

“Japanese Samurai commanded the highest quality Tansu. They created sumptuary laws to maintain status over the rising wealth of the merchant class.  Lacquer workers might spend an entire year creating just the effect they sought. The most skilled metal workers had to reserve certain designs solely for Samurai-level clients and their work could be identified by the intricacy of the design and the high level of hand craftsmanship in its execution.”

Dane Owen and David Jackson literally ‘wrote the book’ on Japanese Tansu… JAPANESE CABINETRY: The Art and Craft of Tansu (David Jackson and Dane Owen, Gibbs-Smith 2002…available on amazon.com), describes the cornerstone of 18th and 19th century Japanese craftsmanship. It focuses on the artful blend of the skills of the expert joiner, blacksmith and finisher to create entirely hand-made, one of a kind chests essential to understanding the hierarchal life of townsmen and Samurai.

Owen says, “Tansu come in many forms and designs and range from modest to very grand.  During the late Edo (1603-1868) and Meiji Periods (1868-1912) their design reflected not only the skills of the cabinet maker, lacquer master and iron monger but also the status and political power of the Tansu buyer.  Tansu were as useful as they were beautiful. Some of the most elaborate served ship captains and merchants while others were designed to protect Kimono; hold kitchen ware or allow peddlers to carry their goods from town to town.

“We are respectful of the talent and time that went in to producing these unique pieces. Elaborate configurations were devised to provide the most appropriate storage for kimonos, lacquer, tea ware, swords, books and the inventory of the thriving merchant classes, as well as sea captains, apothecaries, and peddlers.”

In their book Owen and conservator David Jackson, say Tansu are seen as “the realization of several revered craft traditions using select woods, hand-forged iron and opaque and transparent lacquers.” The authors say Tansu “were the receptacles of an age of economic expansion.”

The curators are using images of woodblock prints, picture books, antique maps and photographs from their personal collections in this special Tansu exhibition.

Dane Owen became fascinated by Tansu while still a student at St John’s College in Santa Fe. 15 years ago he founded the Shibui gallery (www.shibui.com) there. He travels to Japan for a month at a time, largely to out of the way locales where he has come to recognize the regional style of  noteworthy Tansu metalworkers, woodworkers and lacquer masters who created 18th and 19th century Tansu. His long time clients appreciate both his sensitivity to maintaining the original patina and historical integrity of the Tansu he imports, and his aesthetic eye.

In December Dane Owen relocated SHIBUI to New York and is showing his Tansu and Japanese folk art collections from Shibui’s new DUMBO district warehouse, at 306 Water Street (between Gold and Hudson 718 875 1119) while searching for a suitable shop in SOHO.

“The concept of ‘shibui’ is simple, subtle elegance.  Shibui is the highest level of beauty. The Tansu I offer in my gallery reflect that ideal. We gently restore the furniture, and avoid refinishing whenever possible.”

Shibui’s huge new warehouse-gallery on Water Street is just a block from ‘The Commandant’s Mansion’ in Vinegar Hill, nearby the Old Brooklyn Navy Yard, once the home of Admiral Matthew Perry, who coincidentally helped open Japan to trade in 1854.

David Jackson has been conserving and researching Tansu for many years and authored a recent feature article on the history of Tansu step-chests – kaidan dansu – in issue #61 of Daruma magazine.

“From a practical standpoint,” he says, “Tansu are ideal for 21st century audiences. The Japanese made the chests in sections and most can easily be broken down to ease installation. The Japanese gave their Tansu side handles to make them portable, and often stored them in outside fireproof structures called ‘kura.’ It was all about adapting to your environment and being flexible about choosing furnishings that suited your family and lifestyle and the necessity of being organized. In that regard Tansu remain as useful now as they were then, and as beautiful.”

Owen adds that “The Japanese adopted the basic open space that we think of when we think of a Japanese room. But at the time their motivation was not completely aesthetic. They actually were trying to avoid a big tax on their house. Storehouses were not taxed. So the Japanese learned to deal with interior spaces very efficiently. With an open space, the Japanese could use the same room as a bedroom, an office or dining room, simply by removing furnishings from Tansu when they were needed. This lesson in using space and storage ingeniously is very applicable to NY living. The right sort of storage for the right objects creates space.”

IF YOU GO

TANSU: The Cabinetry Heritage of Japan
July 13 – August 4
at The Nippon Club
Hosted by The Nippon Club
Supported by J.C.C. Fund of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York

OPENING RECEPTION JULY 14 FROM 6 – 8 PM

145 West 57 Street
(between Sixth and Seventh Ave)
F train to 57 St and 6th Avenue
N, Q, R, W trains to 57 St and 7th Avenue
10-6 Mon-Fri 10-5 on Sat free admission
www.nipponclub.org
212 581 2223
curated by David Jackson and Dane Owen

Co-authors JAPANESE CABINETRY: The Art and Craft of Tansu
(David Jackson and Dane Owen, Gibbs-Smith 2002…available on amazon.com)

and August 10 – Sept 30
at new Shibui gallery
SHIBUI 306 Water Street, Vinegar Hill, Dumbo, Brooklyn NY
“F” train to York Street, upstairs….go right down hill 2 blocks to Water Street, turn right again
www.shibui.com
718 875 1119
Mon-Sun  11 – 6