Making Nuno 

Travelling exhibition ‘Making NUNO – Japanese Textile Innovation from Sudō Reiko’ is now on at the Textilmuseum St. Gallen

Travelling exhibition ‘Making NUNO – Japanese Textile Innovation from Sudō Reiko’ appeared in London’s Japan House last year and moved onto Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh until January 2022. Last week it opened at the Textilmuseum St. Gallen and will be on display until 18 September 2022.

The exhibition examines the work of the renowned Japanese textile designer, Reiko Sudo, whose innovative approach breaks through the boundaries of traditional textile manufacturing, paving the way for new methods of sustainable production.

Trained industrial designer and head of design at the NUNO textile company for over thirty years, Reiko Sudo’s work blends traditional Japanese handicraft with new technologies and unusual materials. It is no wonder that her work comes into particular focus now as she has had much international recognition for her commitment to the preservation of traditional craftsmanship and fabric recycling. Combining various raw materials like waste products from silk production, hand-made paper, nylon tape or thermoplastics, the designer pays particular attention to the sustainability of materials and processes and to the preservation of established handicrafts. Designs by Reiko Sudo can be found in international museums such as the MoMA in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

In the exhibition at St. Gallen, there are five large-format installations that demonstrate the complex production process involved in the materials designed by Sudo alongside drawings, sketches, raw materials and design prototypes.

Alongside the exhibition, the newly released Thames & Hudson book ‘NUNO: Visionary Japanese Textiles’ by Reiko Sudo chronicles NUNO’S textile work.