Try your hand at Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing ceramic objects, in a special pop-up workshop in Jimena Sarno’s exhibition Rhapsody. While participants will work with modern materials for this short session, the class will be led by Gen Saratani, a master of traditional Kintsugi, who will share the history, philosophy, and authentic techniques of this centuries-old Japanese craft.

Participants are invited to bring a small broken ceramic object to repair during the workshop. Note that the duration of this workshop is 5 hours, with a long break beginning around 12:30pm to ensure that the adhesive has cured. All other repair materials are included. To get the most out of this workshop, your piece should not be broken into more than 3 or 4 pieces. Objects in large pieces are easiest to repair.

Participants are invited to leave their work in the exhibition to be on view for the run of the exhibition. Registrants will receive information on this during the workshop.

Participants will meet in the lobby and be led to the workshop space in Building 4.2. Museum admission is included in the workshop fee. A break will be provided midway through the workshop.

This program is part of Jimena Sarno’s Rhapsody workshop series. Read more about the exhibition here.

About the Facilitator:

Gen Saratani is a New York-based artist who works exclusively with the organic materials found in the traditional fine arts of Japan. Following high school and college studies in the arts in Japan, where he grew up, he served a three-year apprenticeship with his father, Tomizo, a lacquer artist, and a two-year apprenticeship in the study of maki-e under Akira Takeda in Kyoto. Saratani currently lives and works in New York as the only Urushi master in the country. In addition to his own work as an artist, he has conserved thousands of works of art and lectured, led workshops, or given demonstrations on working with lacquer, conservation, and Kintsugi at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Art and Design, the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, and numerous other organizations. Known as a pioneer in the popularity of kintsugi in recent years, he has created numerous artistic Kintsugi works and also trained and produced many kintsugi artists in New York, the United States, and abroad.

Programs associated with Rhapsody are supported in part by The Coby Foundation.