LOUNGE /
ART
February 3, 2026
A harmonious display of glass, ceramics, and woodwork. "Refined Stillness," a joint exhibition by three Japanese artists.
ART | Refined Stillness
TABAYA United Arrows will host a joint exhibition titled “Refined Stillness” featuring three Japanese artists working in glass, ceramics, and woodwork, from Friday, February 6, 2026, in the first-floor gallery.
Text by WASEDA Kosaku
Witnessing the artists' craft, shaping nature's bounty
TABAYA United Arrows, the venue for this exhibition, opened on Friday, April 25, 2025, as part of the comprehensive renovation of the United Arrows Harajuku Main Store. With a concept of "Japanese aesthetics, beauty, and a rich lifestyle," it offers a curated selection of authentic items from around the world, chosen with United Arrows' discerning eye. The store carries a wide range of products, from fashion accessories to daily necessities, crafts, and art, and also features an in-house cafe and bar.
Since its founding in 1989, United Arrows has operated as a select shop creating new lifestyle cultures through fashion, introducing diverse international products and cultures to Japan. Simultaneously, it places the high spirituality and aesthetic sensibilities of the Japanese people at the core of its corporate identity, actively handling products related to Japanese tradition.
Drawing on the aesthetic sensibilities, craftsmanship, natural blessings, and rich imagination refined through Japanese history, the store identifies and presents only authentic items, regardless of country, region, era, or genre, that have been influenced by or have influenced Japanese culture. At TABAYA United Arrows, visitors can fully immerse themselves in a worldview unique to United Arrows, which has shaped all kinds of cultures.
The first-floor gallery hosts exhibitions of artworks and other pieces selected with United Arrows' discerning eye, offering a chance to encounter new forms of Japanese beauty.
The joint exhibition "Refined Stillness" features three artists: glass artist Takeshi Tsujino, ceramic artist Naoto Tanii, and wood artist Yuji Yamamoto. The works of these three artists, each working with different materials, converge in a single space, creating a serene and comfortable world born from the quiet resonance and interplay of their individual elements.
Tsujino continuously explores the possibilities of glass, creating works with an overwhelming worldview. By rejecting the artificiality of refined glass and returning to its nature as a material, he achieves an expression that evokes a sense of nature and the passage of time through his art. For this exhibition, he presents the "abyss" series, inspired by vessels breathing back to life from the ocean depths, and the "rime" series, evoking frost.
Tanii's silver-glazed ceramics are handcrafted with meticulous attention to time and detail. The silver hue captures light and shadow, reflecting the subtle expressions of time as it gently shifts. Their antique-like presence is also captivating, and with each use, they integrate into daily life, evolving and deepening in character.
Yamamoto is based in Makino-cho, Kaizu Nishihama, in Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture, located northwest of Lake Biwa. Surrounded by the majestic lake, towering mountains, and trees, Yamamoto works with wood from the land where he lives in harmony with nature. He uses "muku-zai," or solid wood, directly from logs felled in the mountains, which continue to breathe subtly even after becoming products. Yamamoto's works possess the solid presence of the wood itself, and with use, they gently blend into daily life.
Glass, ceramics, and wood—different materials that harmonize without interfering with each other, creating new forms of beauty. This is likely due to a shared reverence for the beauty and power of nature and a commitment to leveraging the essence of their materials. The Japanese worldview and aesthetic sensibility, cultivated over a long history of stripping away the superfluous and listening to the voice of the material itself, resonate within this serene space.
Takeshi Tsujino
Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1964. After graduating from an Osaka design college, he moved to the United States. He studied blown glass at various schools and workshops, including the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle. Upon returning to Japan, he founded the studio "fresco" in Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture, in 2001. In 2022, he established a new studio, "cavo," in Nanki-Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture.
Naoto Tanii
Born in Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, in 1976. He studied ceramics at the Shigaraki Kiln Technology Institute and the Kyoto Prefectural Pottery Technical College, and opened "Yurakugama" with his brother. He began his career as an artist in 2007, exhibiting at solo shows and craft events nationwide. After becoming independent in 2017, he continues to exhibit at solo shows and events both domestically and internationally.
Yuji Yamamoto
Born in Kyoto City in 1983. Graduated from the Department of Three-Dimensional Design, Faculty of Art, Kyoto Seika University. He began self-studying furniture making with wood during his university years. He was selected for the Asahi Contemporary Craft Exhibition in 2007 and the Japan Craft Exhibition in 2009. After graduation, he diligently pursued woodworking training at the Hida Takayama Forest Craftsmen School. During his time as staff, he was greatly inspired by the free-form woodworking he encountered at workshops at Hay Stack Mountain School (USA), where he was dispatched, and returned to Japan. He then worked as an assistant in the Department of Architecture at Kyoto Seika University for three years, while also self-studying the construction of skin canoes, which he had seen in America. He is now an independent wood furniture maker in Makino-cho, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture. He creates a wide range of items, from small cutlery such as chopsticks to furniture like chairs and boxes, and large turned objects that highlight the natural character of the wood.
Refined Stillness
Dates | Friday, February 6, 2026 – Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Venue | TABAYA United Arrows 1F Gallery
Dates | Friday, February 6, 2026 – Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Venue | TABAYA United Arrows 1F Gallery
During the exhibition period, customers who purchase items in the gallery will receive a drink ticket for the Café & Bar. Please enjoy a relaxing time along with your shopping.
Inquiries
United Arrows