Chair by Eugene Kangawa Presented at the V&A Museum, London. Also appearing on the cover of London Design Festival 2026 “First Look.”
A chair directed by Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO) and crafted by Shingama using Seto Sometsuke porcelain will be presented in a special exhibition at the V&A Museum (Victoria and Albert Museum) in London. We hope you will have the opportunity to see it.
The work also appears on the cover of London Design Festival 2026 First Look.
Dates: 12 September–18 October 2026
Venue: Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A),The Daylit Gallery, Simon Sainsbury Gallery, London
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Featured in Wallpaper*
Published: 16 July 2026
Author: Jamilah Rose-Roberts
Web: https://www.wallpaper.com/design-interiors/design-events/london-design-festival-2026-preview
Domus (Italy, web) has featured Craft x Tech Tokai Project, including Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO)’s collaboration with Seto Sometsuke Yaki.
Published: 18 May 2026Author: Nicola Aprile
Web: https://www.domusweb.it/en/news/gallery/2026/05/15/craft-x-tech-artisan-workshops-japan-design.html
la Repubblica (Italy, national daily newspaper / Design section) has featured Craft x Tech Tokai Project in the article “Craft and Tech, il nuovo Giappone.”
Published: 17 June 2026
About the Work
Seto Sometsuke Yaki × Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO)
Title: Chair in Japanese Nuki and Dami style, The Everyday at the Atelier (Standard / Child Scale)
The chair and tea vessel combine Seto Sometsuke porcelain tiles with traditional mortise-and-tenon woodworking techniques. The deep indigo pieces reveal the gentle variations created through the dami brush-painting technique. The other pieces bear Shingama’s distinctive hand-painted indigo decoration on a white porcelain ground.
The coexistence of different brushstrokes and of straight and curved forms reflects a particular suppleness. The artist understood this quality to be both the appeal of Seto Sometsuke Yaki and part of what has sustained its long history. Guided by that intuition, the work is not defined by a single code, but allows multiple codes to coexist.
The chair is based on a studio-made chair long used in the artist’s atelier, while the tea vessel draws on a form used for many years at the pottery. Through both form and technique, the series brings into view how craft emerges from the practices of everyday life.
Seto Sometsuke Yaki is a ceramic ware produced near Seto and Owariasahi in Aichi Prefecture. This white bisque-fired pottery is known for its realistic and delicate designs, painted using indigo-colored pigment. Its origins can be traced to the early 19th century when porcelain firing techniques were introduced from Kyushu, and the art of Nanga-style painting was adopted, leading to significant development. These painting techniques gained international acclaim at the World Expos in Paris and Vienna, even influencing the Art Nouveau movement in Europe.
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About London design festival
Excerpt from the article
A defining moment for UK design and a cornerstone of the global cultural calendar, London Design Festival returns from 12–20 September with a city-wide programme of Landmark Installations, Special Projects, the Global Design Forum, a Partner Programme and much more. For its 24th edition, the Festival continues to champion emerging and established talent, fostering collaboration, innovation and international exchange across the global design community.
The Festival is proud to announce the Mayor of London as Principal Supporter for 2026. This London Design Festival continues to be supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, with Bloomberg Connects serving as the Festival’s official digital guide. The free digital guide will feature content exclusive to Connects, including expert commentary, video highlights and curated routes across the city.
This year brings together global exchange, craft revival and future facing technologies, with many projects exploring how cultural heritage, material innovation and digital thinking can coexist. Exploring ideas that span East and West, past and future, and the physical and digital worlds, the Festival continues to position London not just as a showcase of design innovation, but as a platform for global conversations. The annual London Design Medals also return, celebrating the achievements of leading figures and emerging talent across the design industry.
“London Design Festival 2026 is proving to be an exceptional year with a vibrant array of international installations and projects, new design districts, and an expanding Global Design Forum following the success of Global Design Forum Istanbul in May. London retains its allure as a global design capital engaging with expanding audiences, partners across the economy, and a high profile made by the layers of design stories that the Festival is home too.” – Ben Evans, London Design Festival Director and Co-Founder.
Dates: September 12–20, 2026
Graphic Identity: Pentagram
About Craft x Tech
Excerpt from the article
We are pleased to announce that “Craft x Tech Tokai Project 2026 Tokyo Exhibition” will present newly created collaboration works from the second edition of Craft x Tech, titled “Craft x Tech Tokai Project.” The exhibition will be held for four days, from Saturday, May 30 to Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at kudan house, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
The second edition collaboration brings together six traditional craft producers from three prefectures in the Tokai region and internationally acclaimed creators to develop new bodies of work. These works will be unveiled here in Tokyo ahead of their global debut.
Blessed with high-quality clay for ceramics and pure flowing rivers, and having flourished as a key hub along the historic Tokaido and Nakasendo routes, the Tokai region has cultivated one of Japan’s most distinguished manufacturing cultures.
‘Craft x Tech Tokai Project’ brings together producers from six artisan regions: Mino Yaki (Gifu) Fudogama, Mino Washi (Gifu) Warabi Paper Company, Arimatsu Narumi Shibori (Aichi) Suzusan, Owari Shippo (Aichi) Ando Cloisonne, Seto Sometsuke Yaki (Aichi) Shingama, and Iga Kumihimo (Mie) Itogo.
Each of these artisans will collaborate with one of six internationally acclaimed creators: David Caon, Lanzavecchia + Wai, Bethan Laura Wood, Philippe Malouin, Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO), and Atang Tshikare. Together, they will explore new creative possibilities, resulting in innovative art pieces that aim to redefine the future of traditional crafts.
Through the resonance between time-honored techniques rooted in the Tokai region and the distinctive creativity of each designer, the project presents a new vision of traditional Japanese crafts to the world.