Home Gallery of Japanese Art
Our client, a long-time patron of our partner gallery, has a passion for collecting Japanese arts, crafts, and edged weapons. For him, the true value lies not in the price but in the provenance — the art piece’s history, previous owners, and the object’s inherent energy. He has always been deeply captivated by the narratives shared by Japanese artisans about their training and work.
When we learned that the client was constructing a new home, we inquired if he intended to designate a special space for his extensive collection. At that point, the room assignments had already been decided, so our collaboration seemed impossible. However, a year and a half later, the client revisited the idea, asking us to rectify the oversight of the initial project’s designer and consider creating a small home gallery in the house’s basement.
The primary stipulation was that the gallery should be entirely designed and built by Japanese specialists using Japanese materials. Knowing the client’s love for stories, IDEOLOGIST put significant effort into developing the concept. The presentation wasn’t just text and images — it included a VR tour and sound elements to fully immerse participants in the envisioned gallery atmosphere.
Given the limited space, Japanese experts also had to integrate the room into the house’s complex engineering systems, ensuring a seamless transition from the European-style interiors to the Japanese gallery zone.
Our team held extensive negotiations with contractors in Japan until we found a firm willing to handle both the project development and its intricate realization. IDEOLOGIST managed to create a gallery unique in both materials and technological sophistication. The floor is made of Daté Kan stone — volcanic andesite exclusively mined from Mount Okurayama — valued by contemporary Japanese and European architects for its striking texture and vivid color transitions. The central podium is framed with Japanese urushi lacquer, and the podium itself is constructed from anti-allergenic rice paper tatami.
Additionally, the gallery features floor heating beneath the tatami, as no footwear, not even indoor shoes, are used within the space. Traditional materials include washi paper with a delicate layer of silver foil and kumiko panels.
Since the collection items are thematically diverse, we implemented a specialized multimedia and lighting system for optimal presentation. Visitors select specific art pieces through a program, dimming the general lighting and illuminating the chosen objects with pinpoint lights. Simultaneously, related video content, such as the artist’s narrative or serene Japanese nature scenes, is displayed on a screen in the tokonoma niche, enhancing the viewing experience and unifying the collection’s disparate elements.
The collection is continually expanding, and the gallery’s design includes adjustable shelves in niches to accommodate variously sized objects.
The project is currently underway.
