赤堀郁彦／Akahori Ikuhiko

赤堀郁彦（1936～）は、横浜市栄区を拠点に活躍している日本の漆工芸家です。

静岡県出身の赤堀は、東京芸術大学美術学部にて漆芸を専攻し、同大学を1960年に卒業後は、東映で映画の美術やデザインに携わりました。その後、横浜市で工芸・デザイン産業振興を担う専門職に就きますが、1968年に第11回日展と第7回日本現代工芸美術展で同時に入選してからは仕事と並行して創作活動を展開していきます。以降、日展では特選を2回、日本現代工芸美術展では文部大臣賞をはじめとした賞を獲得し、作家としての才能を開花させていきました。そうした功績から美術展の審査員も数多く務めたほか、漆地に象牙や貝類をはめこむ横浜の地場産業であった「芝山細工」の技術保存を担うなど、団体の運営や文化振興にも大きく貢献しています。また、2018年からは台湾漆芸界との親交を深めていき、ワークショップの特別講師として現地の研究生を指導しながら、台湾工芸の研究や教育普及に寄与しています。

赤堀の作品の独自性は、蒔絵や平文（ひょうもん）などの伝統的な技法を採用しながらも、一般的な実用品ではなく平面作品を手がけ、漆芸が持つ既存のイメージを覆している点にあります。そこに、ステンレスやチタンなど、漆とは異なる工業素材が巧みに組みこまれることで、古来より発展してきた漆芸の歴史を守りつつ、公害や都市、宇宙といった現代的なモチーフや主題を表現することに成功しています。たとえば、横浜美術館に収蔵されている【Dream for the 21st Century】（1999年）では、漆地に金属の薄い板をはめこむという漆芸の装飾と、磨き分けや着色で加工したステンレスという、従来では交わることのなかった技法が同時に用いられています。その相乗効果が、真っ暗で果てしない宇宙空間と強烈な輝きを放つ人工物というモチーフを、コントラストを際立たせつつ調和をもって描き出し、鑑賞者を不可思議な未来の夢へと誘います。

Ikuhiko Akahori (1936–) is a Japanese lacquerware artist based in Sakae-ku, Yokohama.

Originally from Shizuoka Prefecture, Akahori specialized in lacquerware at the Fine Arts Department of Tokyo University of the Arts. After graduating in 1960, he worked on set design and art direction for films at Toei Studios. Subsequently, he took up a professional position promoting crafts and design industries in Yokohama. However, since simultaneously winning awards at the 11th Nitten Exhibition and the 7th Japan Contemporary Craft Art Exhibition in 1968, he has pursued creative activities alongside his professional work. Over the years, he has been awarded prestigious honors such as the Minister of Education Award at the Japan Contemporary Craft Art Exhibition and has received two special selections at the Nitten Exhibition, showcasing his talent as an artist. In addition to his artistic achievements, he has served as a judge for numerous art exhibitions and contributed significantly to the preservation of techniques for “Shibayama woodwork”, a local industry in Yokohama that incorporates ivory and shells into lacquer. Furthermore, since 2018, he has strengthened ties with the lacquerware industry in Taiwan, contributing to the research and education of Taiwanese crafts through workshops as a special lecturer.

His distinctive approach to his work involves the integration of traditional techniques such as maki-e and flat decoration, diverging from convention by emphasizing flat pieces over functional items, thereby challenging the established perception of lacquerware. He skillfully integrates industrial materials like stainless steel and titanium into his pieces, enabling him to express contemporary motifs and themes such as pollution, urbanization, and space while preserving the history of lacquerware development. For example, his work “Dream for the 21st Century” (1999), housed in the Yokohama Museum of Art, combines the traditional decorative technique of lacquerware with the use of thin metal plates and processed stainless steel, techniques that were previously not combined. This synergy highlights the contrast and harmony between the boundless darkness of space and the intense brilliance of artificial objects, inviting viewers into a mysterious dream of the future.