Light held in lacquer.

Published 13 September 2026 · WHV · Public-source editorial note

A black box can hold a landscape without becoming a miniature painting. In Keiji Onihira’s Ōmurasaki Between Sun and Shade, a butterfly and foliage appear through the reflective language of makie lacquer.

A scene that changes with the surface

Makie builds an image by applying metallic powder to wet lacquer. The gallery describes Onihira’s broader method as moving between multiple techniques and layers to create surfaces that shift with light and viewpoint. The material effect has to be encountered around the object, not flattened into one photograph.

The work appears in Onishi Gallery’s Across the Sea exhibition in New York from 10 to 30 September 2026. That makes this a current opportunity to look at an identified piece and ask how the maker controls depth, edge, reflection and the relationship between image and container.

See the exact work

What holds value is living knowledge shaped into a specific point of view. The technique has a history, but the object is not valuable merely because it belongs to a recognised tradition. Authorship, execution, condition and the exact materials of this work still need to be documented.

If considering a work, request dimensions, materials, date, signature, condition and a clear invoice. Ask how lacquer should be handled, displayed and conserved. The first photograph can create desire. The physical surface and its record have to carry the decision.

Source and context.

Onishi Gallery: Across the Sea, Autumn 2026 ↗

Onishi Gallery: Keiji Onihira ↗

A current exhibition discovery based on the gallery’s published information, not an independent condition report, authentication or recommendation to buy. Availability, price and event access were not established by WHV and should be confirmed directly.

Source checked 13 September 2026. WHV interpretation is distinct from the source’s account.