Lacquer home·com·ing

The exhibition Lacquer – Homecoming explores the rich, evolving presence of lacquer in everyday life—across cultures, materials, and time. From traditional techniques to contemporary innovation, the show brings together artworks and functional objects that reflect lacquer’s place in both history and daily living.

Rooted in the idea of “homecoming”—a return to something familiar yet rediscovered—the exhibition invites visitors to consider lacquer not just as an artistic medium, but as part of a broader, lived experience. Whether derived from natural or synthetic sources, lacquer surrounds us in subtle, often overlooked ways. This exhibition brings it into focus.

Lacquer – Homecoming is part of an ongoing curatorial initiative to establish Chiang Mai as a center for lacquer knowledge and artistic exchange. Following the 2023 exhibition Arrow of Time, this project continues to build a platform where craft, culture, and curiosity meet.

Through a thoughtful, interdisciplinary approach, the exhibition blends historical narratives with contemporary interpretations. It encourages visitors to reflect on the many forms lacquer takes—from the objects we use, to the stories they carry—and to rediscover its beauty in new, personal ways.

Ultimately, the exhibition is an invitation: to connect, to reflect, and to return—through art—to the quiet presence of lacquer in our lives.