Holiday Pop-Up Shop: Micheko Galerie’s “Zauberbox”

For those looking to glitz up their Christmas tree or to adorn their home with winsome baubles year-round, visitors can choose from among Mai Yamamoto’s hand-worked glass pieces, Taku Anekawa’s deliciously fun and macabre embroidery, Natsuki Ohtake’s detailed inkjet print drawings, Risa Fukui’s lovely cut-paper art, or Kayoko Mizumoto’s graphic ceramics. Beginning at just 8 euros, these pieces were specially commissioned by Micheko Galerie from artists who usually fetch much steeper prices.

There is no shortage either of ways to bejewel oneself, beginning with Mizumoto’s ceramic brooches in fanciful baroque designs. Akiko Kurihara’s delightful 1g gold necklace pendant is a delicate, 18k gold letter “g” weighing exactly 1gram (it is also available in 1gram of silver). If Kurihara’s works riff playfully on the concept of face value, Misato Seki’s subtle pieces harbor a secret. Her precious pods—made from Japanese lacquer, wood, mother of pearl, gold, and silver—break apart to reveal a ring. Once resealed, they become a self-contained jewelry box or a beautiful objet d’art.

In case you prefer a bit of function with your frivolity, Studio Note offers beautiful glass rulers in which each centimeter is marked by the stem of a pressed flower. Alongside her endearingly annotated polaroid photographs, Ayumi Kudo offers artist books and stationary. Also on view are two gorgeous prints by Chika Osaka, featuring female protagonists from her short stories: one an intricately detailed aquatint, the other a painstaking lithograph. Keita Akiyama’s “sound flora” in warm wooden frames are pen drawings of fantastical plants meant to invoke musical instruments. Akiyama hopes that gazing at their forms will inspire viewers to begin hearing musical notes. A lingering look may yield an entire symphony.