For 100 years, INAX has crafted exceptional ceramic tiles and bathroom products, driven by their unwavering passion for ‘enabling everyone to live well’. In Melbourne, Artedomus has partnered with INAX to present INAX100, a tactile, handcrafted and vibrant exhibition, that highlights the history of ceramic tile making.
Since its very beginnings in Tokoname, Japan, in the 1920s, INAX has perfected the art of handcrafting durable, high-quality Japanese tiles, a mastery that remains unmatched today.
With a profound understanding of clay’s properties and the transformative power of water, INAX creates an alchemy of nature’s finest elements, producing exquisite tiles in every imaginable hue and form.
INAX was birthed through a collaboration with Frank Lloyd Wright for the seminal Imperial Hotel in the 1920s. Lloyd Wright, together with Japanese tile makers made the terracotta tiles for the original Imperial Hotel. (While the original hotel no longer stands, its legacy continues on with the Main Lobby of the hotel painstakingly relocated to the Meiji-mura Museum Village in Aichi Prefecture.)
INAX and its Ceramic Lab and Kiln Plaza (standing since 1921) are based out of Tokoname, in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan. It’s a city renowned for its ancient pottery practices which date back to 1100, and is also home to the INAX Tile Museum where INAX has meticulously documented and stored the many tile products, collections, colour palettes and other artefacts that reveal a fascinating history of Japanese tile manufacture.
Now on show at Artedomus in Melbourne is a fascinating snapshot of the diverse and colourful history that is contained within INAX’s Tile Museum. The team at INAX have worked closely with Artedomus to curate a selection of archival tiles, moulds, colour palettes and precious artefacts. These reveal INAX’s devotion to the craft: the breadth of their glazing expertise, original moulding and finishing techniques, and their ability to undertake complex refurbishment projects in which they can precisely reproduce historic tiles using contemporary techniques to perfectly match original composition, make and finish.
The exhibition also represents the stylistic evolutions of tile shapes, colours and applications over the decades, and touches on the early influence that global demand had on INAX, as the world woke up to the beauty and potential of its handcrafted Japanese tiles and bathware collections.
Drawing on their rich heritage of craftsmanship, INAX continues to transform our built environments – from surface to structure, both contemporary and historical – in order to reimagine our everyday living experiences. Artedomus is proud to partner with INAX as we embark on a new century of beauty and innovation in handcrafted Japanese tiles.
Contact us today to organise your tour of the INAX100 Exhibition at Artedomus in Melbourne. The exhibition runs until the end of January 2025. Watch the INAX story, and our journeys through Japan to discover the culture and tradition of Japanese tile making.
Words by Alice Blackwood
Photography by Joanne Ly