Hermès Foundation Metal

【Hermes Foundation】 Metal ​ Image
URL: Fondation Hermès Press Release: October 2, 2025 metal style=”color:#747474″>Metal
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Elodie Lesourd | Walking Through the Land of Falsity (courtesy K.Smolenski) | 2016 | Acrylic on MDF| 165.8×102.7cm (C)Elodie Lesourd Since ancient times, those whose calling was to work with metals have been likened to alchemists, and the materials, blends, methods, and processes used in metalworking were considered to be equivalent to magical wisdom. Because the skill of transforming earth (ore) into metal lies at the intersection of nature and human craftsmanship, early blacksmiths were endowed with uncharted powers that were the envy of all. Furthermore, smelting and forging require mastery of fire. It is impossible to watch the iron being heated to a high temperature – the only thing you can rely on is the color changing from bright red to white – and you have to strike the hammer almost blindly to create the desired shape. To do this, you need to fully understand and control your body movements. From Hugues Jaquet’s “Ambivalence” In the fall of 2025, the Fondation Hermès will publish the book “Savoir & Faire: Metals” through Iwanami Shoten. This book is part of the “Skill Academy” program, which attempts to rethink, pass on, and expand artisanal techniques and craftsmanship surrounding natural materials. This is the third book in the series, following “Wood” (2021) and “Earth” (2023). This book is a collection of selected essays and interviews from the French edition of “Savoir & Faire le metal” (2018, co-edited by Acte-Sud and the Fondation Hermès). It also includes original Japanese translations of essays and interviews by experts and artists.
style=”font-size:16px;line-height:28px;padding:0;word-break:break-all;”> Compiled from essays, interviews, and portfolios. To commemorate the publication of this book, Ginza Maison Hermès Le Forum will be hosting a group exhibition exploring the properties of metals. Gold, silver, iron, lead, brass… Metals, which have coexisted with human civilization from the Bronze Age to the present day, have unique properties, such as the diversity of raw materials and processing techniques. Sociologist and historian Hugues Jacquet, director of the French Academy of Skills, calls this characteristic of metals ambiguous in his book. What cultural aspects does this physical property of materials have? For example, the act of extracting metal from ore and processing it has become a motif of myth and magic, and even today, the image of a heroic figure manipulating red flames and the clanging of tools evokes awe in our memories. In the “Metal” exhibition, three artists interpret and reconsider this ambiguity of metal through the lens of music, video, and sculpture, exploring medieval alchemy, modern rationality, the symbolism of sound, darkness and light, and social class. Élodie Lesueur, who interprets metal music semiotically; film director Maiko Endo, who creates inner universes and outer symbols using the traditional Japanese materials vermilion and mercury; and Tadashi Enomoto, who creates works using recycled materials, superimposing human activity onto the Earth as a wrecking ball. We hope that this exhibition, “Metal,” and the book, “Savoir & Faire: Metal,” which approaches the attributes that metal has developed throughout history from multiple angles, will pique the curiosity of many people. Official exhibition page Participating artists
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/154349/8/154349-8-2d8afe7720d1e396c8fa952c684a69fd-1817×1302.jpg Tada Enomoto | “RPM-1200” | 2011 | Steel | Dimensions variable | Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art | Photo: Masafumi Toyonaga (C)Chu Enoki Chu Enoki Born in Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture in 1944. Currently based in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. He began working primarily in the Kansai region in the late 1960s. After his time with the avant-garde group JAPANKOBEZERO (1970-76), Enoki began to create entire exhibitions himself, starting with finding venues around town. He developed a unique world through unconventional performances such as “Going to Hungary with Half-Bald Hair” (1977), in which he shaved off half his body hair, and “BarRoseChu” (1979), in which he dressed as a female bar owner, as well as works featuring guns and cannons, and works that breathe new life into scrap metal. Enoki did not pursue a full-time career as an artist, but instead worked as a mold maker until retirement. His approach to life has had a profound influence on many artists.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/154349/8/154349-8-60f3a207c0390e09fc930e4fffa0b15c-3244×2159.jpg Maiko Endo | “Knowledge” | 2025 | Still image from the film (C)Maiko Endo Maiko Endo Born in Helsinki. After working as a creative director in New York, she is now based in Tokyo. In 2011, he made his directorial debut with the Japanese-American feature film “KUICHISAN,” which won the Best World Documentary Award at the Opus Bonum main competition at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival in 2012. In 2016, he released his second feature film, “TECHNOLOGY,” a Japanese-French co-production. His medium-length film,
“TOKYOTELEPATH2020,” was officially selected for the 2020
International Film Festival Rotterdam. In 2021, he presented his first art piece, the video installation “Electric Shop No. 1,” at
TakuroSomeya Contemporary Art in Tokyo. In 2022, he presented the online film “Sora” at the 14th Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions, which was added to the collection of the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. In 2023, the film was included in the exhibition “After Landscape Theory” at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. In 2024, the short film “Jizai,” produced in collaboration with the JSTERATO* Inami Jizai Body Project, was screened around the world. *Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Strategic Basic Research Promotion Project Overall Implementation Research (ERATO)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/154349/8/154349-8-2e2960aae67691639d9646275b400d62-2023×2700.jpg ElodieLesourd | 《The BreatheOf The Death Is The Only Sound(courtesy N.Gale)》 | 2024 | Acrylic on MDF | 73.4 x 55 cm (C)ElodieLesourd Elodie Lesueur Elodie Lesourd Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1978, Lesourd currently lives and works in Paris. Through music, he explores a wide range of fields, including philosophy, literature, sociology, art history, architecture, and natural science. Lesourd’s creative practice is comprised of two distinct yet complementary strands: hyperrealistic paintings inspired by music-related installations by other artists, and a series of works that deconstruct, transform, and reinterpret symbols and codes specific to rock music culture. Linked by a common conceptual structure and sharing a metaphysical purpose, these works explore the very concept of finitude.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/154349/8/154349-8-b4513035e1b9482be5dcc1b80905b74e-3900×2603.jpg Tadashi Eno | “Tongue Ears / End Tab” | 2015 | Metal | (17-21.5) x (10-13.7) x (2.3-7.2), 86 pieces | Okuden, Kongobu-ji Temple, Head Temple of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism | Photo: Ryuji Sakata (C) Chu Enoki
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/154349/8/154349-8-538af804c601ed7c95443ab2fb0ca21c-1801×2700.jpg Tada Enomoto | “Bar Rose Chu” | 1979 | Photo: Sadazo Yoneda (C)Chu Enoki
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/154349/8/154349-8-64f673860d02eaa94cf93e93894902b0-1920×1080.jpg Maiko Endo | “Jizai” | 2024 | Still image from the video (C)3 EYES FILMS, JST ERATO Inami Jizai Body Project
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/154349/8/154349-8-14c4b83fd9fbf25b15ed371435955a6f-3900×2633.jpg Elodie Lesourd | 《The Half of Half-and-Half (courtesy T.Blass) 》| 2014 | Acrylic on MDF | 35.2 x 52.9 cm (C)Elodie Lesourd Photos from this exhibition are available for download from the website. Access theURL below and enter your ID and password.
https://reservation-jp.hermes.com/press/login.html ID: forum | Password: METAL1 “Savoir & Faire Metals,” edited by the Hermès Foundation Iwanami Shoten Published October 24, 2025 A5 irregular hardcover box, 448 pages Price (¥2,900 tax) ISBN 978-4-00-061724-6 C0070 Cover: Atsumi Kikuchi This book sheds light on metal, a material of development and reuse, from the perspectives of architecture, crafts, art, chemistry, and history. It touches on the context of human technology that metals embody, and explores the mysterious allure that resides deep within them. Table of Contents: Message for the Japanese Edition: Olivier Fournier (Chairman of the Hermès Foundation) Ambivalence: Hugues Jacquet (sociologist and historian) The Earth as a Wrecking Ball – Enomoto Tadashi and the Ethics of Iron: Sawaragi Noi (art critic) Extraction and
Transformation Ancient Metallurgy: Its Fundamentals – Robert Hallou (Historian of Science) Metals and the Japanese for 2000 Years – Takahiko Kutsuna (Technological History, Conservation Science) Alchemy of Alchemy and Clothing Stones: Chinese Alchemy of Longevity by Tokimasa Takeda (Chinese Philosophy, Chinese Scientific Thought) Landscapes and Tatara Ironworks Connected by Myth: Okuizumo Tatara Ironworks I Want to Move Forward by Ron Arad (Designer) Weight: Richard Serra (sculptor) Portfolio “Distant Neighborhood”: Go Itami (photographer) II Metal/The Art of Metal Enhancing Materials: Hugues Jacquet (Sociologist and Historian) Jizai Okimono: Kazutoshi Harada (History of Japanese Metalwork, History of Japanese Swords) Locks: Pascal Remy (Metalworking Department Director) Japanese Swords and Sword Fittings: Naoko Naito (Art History) Uncovering the Mysteries of Metals – Interviews with Two Educators Carrying on the Arts of Metal Engraving and Metal Casting Hirotomo Maeda (Tokyo University of the Arts, Metalworking) Tsuyoshi Ueda (Kanazawa College of Art, Metal Casting) Making Materials Shine – Gold and Silver Crafts and the Art of Crafting Guillaume Rolle (Silversmith) The Metallicity of Metal Music Milan Garcin (Geneva Museum of Art and History) (Chief Curator) Portfolio “Metal and Expression” Selected by Mieko Iwai (Modern and Contemporary Crafts History) III Metal Architecture Materials for Thought: Marc Mimram (architect, engineer) Steel and Modern
Architecture: Bertrand Lemoine (architect, engineer, historian) Women’s Labor in Copper Mines: Mayumi Mizutamari (Japanese Literature, Intellectual History) Expanding the realm of possibility: Dominique Perrault (architect) and Gaël Loriot-Prévost (designer) Considering the relationship between steel and architecture through the World Expo: Taro Igarashi (architectural historian) Portfolio “Interlude”: Pascal Poulain (artist) – Metal Metal Thursday, October 30, 2025 – Saturday, January 31, 2026 Tadashi Eno, Maiko Endo, Elodie Rousseur Opening Hours: 11:00-19:00 (Last admission at 18:30) Admission Fee: Free Closed: Wednesdays Venue: Ginza Maison Hermès Le Forum, 8th and 9th floors (5-4-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, TEL: 03-3569-3300) Organizer: Fondation Hermès Sponsored by: Embassy of France in Japan/Institut Français Press Inquiries Hermès Japon Co., Ltd. Communications Department Yoshimine, Ueda, Okuda (culture_info@hermes.co.jp) TEL: 03-3569-3640
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