Nobuaki Sato 
From Saturday, June 27, 2026, Lei Gallery Tokyo will present “Crossing Mountains and Clouds,” the first solo exhibition by Japanese urushi artist Tasuku Murose.
Held as the first exhibition at Lei Gallery Tokyo, the show brings together 15 lacquer works, including 13 exclusively new pieces. The works will be exhibited and available for purchase.
Murose works primarily with maki-e and raden, two lacquer techniques that draw light into the surface of an object. His works do not reveal themselves at once. They ask to be seen closely, from different angles, and over time.
A deep surface.
A fine trace of gold.
A quiet reflection within the shell.
Depth of the shadow is experienced only when one. comes near.
Crossing Mountains and Clouds
The title of the exhibition is “Crossing Mountains and Clouds.”
Urushi, Japanese lacquer, is made from the sap of the lacquer tree. Through the hands of the maker, it is layered, polished, and given form as vessels, boxes, cups, and objects.
In Murose’s work, time remains within the material.
Something grown in the mountains.
Something shifting like clouds.
Between the two, the surface of lacquer begins to appear.
Works in the Exhibition
The exhibition is composed around four themes: water, clouds, plants, and the moon.
Water
In works such as Maki-e Water Basin “Spring of Clouds” and Maki-e Sacred Water Vessel “Glow,” water is not treated only as something to be contained.
It is placed, observed, and allowed to reflect.
Through the forms of a basin and a vessel, the works look toward water as something that moves between earth and sky.
Clouds
Maki-e Panel “Clouds” and Maki-e Panel “Current” belong to a new group of panel works created for this exhibition.
Clouds passing through mountains.
Wind moving through a valley.
A sign before it becomes language.
These works hold the ambience of nature before it becomes fixed into a clear image.
Plants
In Maki-e and Raden Incense Container “Hydrangea,” Maki-e Incense Container “Ginkgo,” Flower Cup “White Camellia,” and Flower Cup “Adonis,” the subject is the life of plants.
Budding, flowering, changing color.
The works look at moments that appear briefly, then pass.
Moon
Maki-e Sake Cups “Lunar Calendar,” Maki-e Sake Cup “Full Moon,” and Maki-e Sake Cup “Gibbous Moon” take the changing phases of the moon as their subject.
When sake is poured, the cup moves slightly.
Inside, the gold powder shifts with the liquid and light, creating a surface that is never exactly the same.
At Lei Gallery Tokyo
Lei Gallery Tokyo is located inside Lei In Praise of Shadows Flagship Store in Yoyogi-Uehara, Tokyo.
Within the store, the display tabletops are finished with urushi under Murose’s supervision. The same material that appears in the works also exists quietly within the space.
The exhibition is not separated from the room around it. Light from the windows, shadows on the walls, the surface of lacquer, and the distance between object and viewer all become part of the experience.
Exhibition Details
This exhibition marks Tasuku Murose’s first solo exhibition. The works gathered here can be encountered only during this exhibition period, and only in this form. Throughout the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to experience the work in the artist’s presence and speak with him directly. Assistance is available in English, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
Exhibition Title
Tasuku Murose Lacquer Exhibition: Crossing Mountains and Clouds
Dates
Saturday, June 27 – Saturday, July 4, 2026
Venue
Lei Gallery Tokyo
UEHARA TERRACE 1F, 1-30-12 Uehara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Opening Hours
11:00–19:00 (Until 17:00 on the final day)
Artist in Attendance
The artist will be present throughout the exhibition.
Works
Works will be exhibited and available for purchase.
Admission
Free admission (No reservation required)
Artist Profile
Tasuku Murose
Born in Tokyo in 1985, Tasuku Murose is the second son of lacquer artist Kazumi Murose. After graduating from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University, he earned a Ph.D. in Cultural Property Studies from the Graduate School of Literature at Tsurumi University. Alongside the creation of lacquer works, he has been involved in research on materials and techniques related to cultural heritage, both in Japan and abroad. In June 2023, he moved to Okukuji, Ibaraki, one of Japan’s major lacquer-producing regions, and established his studio, Yama no Ha. Around the same time, he opened Nakano Kumo, a cultural exchange space in a residential area of Nakano, Tokyo. Today, he continues to work between Tokyo and Okukuji, engaging with urushi through making, research, and education.