Japanese Painting Supply Store by Kengo Kuma

Japanese company warehouse terrada has opened an ‘art supply laboratory’ in Tokyo — a scheme that also serves as a hub connecting manufacturers with emerging local artists. Named ‘Pigment’, the store has been completed by architect Kengo Kuma whose design comprises organic curved surfaces that closely resemble bamboo blinds. Beneath the undulating ceiling, pigments are displayed along the spacious interior walls, grouped according to their color.

The store seeks to act as a catalyst, inspiring young artisans to take up traditional methods of production. Consequently the store provides expert advice on each of its products — a range that includes more than 4,000 different pigments, traditional ‘washi’ paper, and ‘sumi’ ink sticks. workshops by art professors and supply manufacturers are held regularly, offering knowledge to a wide variety of users, including professional artists as well as students.


Text and some photos from Bloglovin

In recent years fewer artists have turned to more traditional methods of art making, diminishing the number of successors to these older forms. Pigment aims to provide hard-to-find tools for the preservation of older paintings while also inspiring the latest generation of artists to incorporate these older materials into newer works. In addition to selling brushes, pigments, special glues, and papers (some used in Japanese painting since the Meiji period), the store will also provide workshops by both art professors and manufacturers of the supplies housed in-store.