From the Horvitz Collection
Hands & Earth: Six Perspectives on Japanese Contemporary Ceramics Opens at the Lowe Art Museum More than 40 important works created by 35 leading contemporary Japanese ceramic artists will be on view at the Lowe Art Museum from June 20 to September 23, 2018. All of the works are drawn from the collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, who have the most significant encyclopedic collection of major Japanese modern and contemporary...
Japanese Ceramics by Robert Yellin
January, 2016 Tamba Ceramist NISHIHATA Tadashi by Robert Yellin Of all the Six-Ancient pottery towns in Japan, none retain the tranquil country life feel and environment as Tamba. Located in Hyogo prefecture not that far from bustling metropolises Kobe and Osaka, Tamba is situated in a valley where for a millennium the potters have used the perfect slopes of the hills to build their wood-burning kilns. This is the setting where...
Japanese Ceramics by Joan B. Mirviss
January, 2016 Landscapes in Clay： Masanao Kaneta by Joan B. Mirviss An eighth-generation Hagi potter, KANETA Masanao (b. 1953) has reached beyond his extended patrimony to create a truly sculptural oeuvre grounded in functionality. Due to his training as a sculptor, Kaneta’s forms have a strong and dramatic presence that sets them apart from the work of other artists from the ancient ceramic center of Hagi. Using centuries-old glazes,...
Katsumi Kako A Rising Star in the Ceramics World
In the Japanese ceramic art world it is said that ceramic artists reach their artistic height in their 50s, and for the most part such an adage holds true. There are quite a few mid-40s’ artists here in Japan who are on the threshold of joining that venerated club and fulfilling their destinies. Surely one that all lovers of Japanese ceramic art should watch is Kako Katsumi (b.1965). One of life’s joys is discovering something while...
A Visit to The Robert Yellin Gallery
While riding the Shinkansen train from Tokyo on my way home to Kyoto (a few days before the earthquake), I made a special stop at Mishima, in order to visit the Robert Yellin Gallery, a must stop for contemporary Japanese ceramics enthusiasts. Robert’s gallery is a surprisingly convenient way to see significant works by dozens of today’s top Japanese ceramic artists, all in one place. Amongst pieces by such internationally...
Nakamura Takuo: Contemporary Potter
Nakamura Takuo is a contemporary potter who has reinterpreted the Kutaniyaki style of his native Kanazawa, by expanding its traditional 5-color Kutani color palette. He has done this through the application of traditional low-fire, over-glaze enamels to reddish, rough-hewn, unglazed surfaces. In addition, Nakamura-san’s functional pieces give us exciting new ways in which to experience common utensils. For example, Nakamura-san’s...