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9:00 AM-5:30 PM
Suiteki
Design Exhibition |collaboration between Kai Linke and Takahiko Sato
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YANMAR FLYING-Y BUILDING, Osaka
- Price Free admission
The two met in 2020 during the pandemic through a streaming project called ‘Online Kobo’ launched by the Goethe-Institut Villa Kamogawa. Since then, they have continued their dialogue online and offline, deepening their understanding of the unique quality and processing techniques of urushi, the precision and patience of urushi craftsmen, and the versatility of urushi works.
The Suiteki objects are the result of a combination of millennia-old urushi lacquer techniques and modern design. They symbolise the fusion of tradition and innovation, as well as a commitment to a sustainable future.
This project “Suiteki” is supported by Yamaoka Memorial Foundation.
Biographies
Kai Linke
Kai Linke works in the interdisciplinary fields of product and exhibition design, art direction, innovation consulting and architectural collaborations for international companies and institutions. His work is based on dialogue and intensive research and is characterised by a combination of tradition and innovation, as well as a passion for cultures, materials and technologies. He combines function and aesthetics through innovative processes, creating atmosphere and making contexts tangible and experiential.
His projects have been featured in numerous international publications, exhibitions and permanent collections, such as the Norwegian National Museum in Oslo, Galila's P.O.C. in Brussels and the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt and have received multiple awards.
Kai Linke studied product design at the Offenbach University of Art and Design. He was a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation, the Akademie Schloss Solitude/Stuttgart and the Goethe-Institut Villa Kamogawa Kyoto/Japan. In 2019, he published the book ‘Kai Linke in Japan’. In 2021, he designed and conceived the German pavilion ‘Spoon Archaeology’ at the London Design Biennale.
Kai Linke is actively involved in design education. Since 2015, he has been teaching product design at various universities. Since 2024, he has been Professor of Product Design at the BGBA Hanau – University of Cooperative Education.
Takahiko Sato
Takahiko Sato is the 4th generation representative of Sato Kiyomatsu Shoten, an urushi lacquer shop founded in 1921 in Nishijin, Kyoto.
While continuing the traditional techniques as an urushi lacquer finisher, he conducts his own scientific research on urushi and develops new uses for it.
With his academic approach, he is involved in a variety of innovative and creative fields, including architecture, automobiles, shoes, metal tools and artworks by world-renowned artists.
He is also an armourer and, as an urushi painter, is committed to the transmission of techniques from ancient dynasties and the preservation of Japanese culture.
Location
1st floor, entrance foyer,
1-32 Chayamachi, Kita-ku
Osaka
Japan
9:00-17:30 *Admission is only possible during the opening hours of the Yanmar office building.
*Closed from Sat. 9 to Wed. 13 August. On the last day (31 August) admission is possible until 2:30 p.m.
