Quite a while back I mentioned a French-Japanese show of buttons at the AC Gallery. Some people requested photos of the actual items on display, and I am to please. I could not photos of as many as I liked, because one artist complained. Seeing that the gallery is small and often rather empty, several other artists understood that it was better to get some information out there via social networks. If you are one of the artists whose work I photographed and you do not want me to post those photos, please contact me and I will take them down. ((日本語も大丈夫です.)

Hitoko Fujisaki invited us to see the show. As usual, she dyed the threads with natural materials, primarily mud, and wove the fabric herself. She also added some metal trim to some. I think that a friend of hers might have made the metal pieces for her to add but I might be wrong. The numbers on the bottom line indicate the prices in yen. Most of hers were quite large; some might have been more than two inches in diameter.

Yuki Maeda is as colourful and outgoing as these little creatures that she created. She loudly declared that we had her permission to take as many photos as we liked. Can you believe these li’l felt guys are buttons? Can you imagine the colourful outfit you would have if you used these?

Nathalie Barbet is a ceramicist from France, who seems to be represented by Galerie Hayasaki run by a Japanese art dealer in Paris. I could not find a dedicated page about her, but she seems to be in a few Nathalie Barbet now and then. Her distinctive style stands out. Reminder: The bottom number is the price in yen. The French artists seem to have unusual prices, because I think theirs were converted to yen. Currency exchanges rarely result in even numbers.

Karima Duchamp is another ceramicist represented by Galerie Hayasaki. These were also surprisingly large and more than one inch in diameter.

Akemi Totoki (十時あけみ) is a Japanese ceramicist. She is another artist who seems to not have her own webpage or blog but is sometimes included in group shows mentioned on Akemi Totoki.

Nanase Takakoshi’s embroidered creatures and insects were cute and much smaller. How would these work as buttons? The tails would get caught in something, wouldn’t they? The tigers might work…

Miho Soma‘s buttons were much smaller and more likely to be available in multiples. She seems to be an award-winning artist in her field and also has seminars on how to make buttons (in Japanese).

Estelle Lacombe seems to be a French painter and printmaker. (Sorry about the blurry photo.) Hers reminded me of silk scarves.

Urara Nakayasu‘s buttons seemed more like jewelry to me. She used feathers to create colourful and striking pieces.

Noboru Nagashima‘s metalwork was affordable and would also make lovely brooches. One of my friend’s is now the proud owner of one.

Kazuhide Okada also used feathers, but he placed them inside glass tubes. He is after all a glass artist. How one earth would you use those as buttons?

The room was filled with the work of countless artists. The variety was amazing! Some were obviously buttons, some were jewelry, and some were small pieces of art. Some were expensive, but others were affordable. If you wanted to buy presents for somebody, this kind of show might be a good opportunity. Don’t let the name of the show fool you! We definitely saw the results of inspiration but not all were buttons.