Catalog: Artists (750)

Be the only one on the block with a Murakoshi Takuma wash basin! Here is a sink made from his infamous rugged Shigaraki clay covered in Ash, iron and feldspar. This will undoubtedly become a conversation piece! It comes complete with stainless steel drain pipe fittings. The sink is 35 cm (14 inches) diameter, 12 cm 5 inches) deep and is in perfect condition.
Murakoshi Takuma is one of those enigmas who simply lives to work with clay. He does not seek to make a living through pottery, but through his primal approach has earned a following which keeps his work in high demand. He was born in Aichi prefecture in 1954 and began his stroll down the pottery path in 1980 under the tutelage of Kyoto potter Umehara Takehira. Favoring very rough Shigaraki glaze, he established his own kiln in 1997 in the Kiyomizu pottery district of Kyoto, then moved to Nagaoka in 2002. Although eschewing the world of competitive exhibitions, he has been picked up by many of Japan’s preeminent galleries, including private exhibitions at the prestigious Kuroda Toen of Tokyo’s Ginza District.

A superb example of Karatsu ware by Nakazato Tarouemon enclosed in the original wooden box titled Tataki Chossen Karatsu Mimitsuki Mizusashi signed Jusandai Tarouemon. The pale clay is covered in white with color fingering its way through in permeated drips from the rim. The vessel is 19 cm (7-1/2 inches) diameter, 16 cm (6 inches) tall and in excellent condition. It comes complete with the original ceramic lid as well as a Kae-buta (alternate lacquered lid) in a separate compartment within the box
Nakazato Tadao (1923-2009) was born the first son of the 12th generation of Nakazato Tarouemon in Karatsu City. He graduated from the Craft Design Course, Tokyo School of Crafts (mod. Chiba University). In 1943, and first exhibited with the Nitten in 1951. In 1956 he would receive the Hokutosho prize there, followed by another commendation in 1958, and the JCS award in 1961. He took over the family name upon his fathers retirement in 1969. He would go on to receive many awards throughout his career, including the Prime Minister's Award in 1981, and the Japan Art Academy Award in 1984, The Saga Prefectural Order of Cultural Merit in 1985, and the Order of Cultural Merit by Karatsu city in 1995. In 2002 he retired from the world, entering a Buddhist temple and taking the name Hoan. He would ultimately be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for his lifes work and be appointed an adviser of the Japan Art Academy. He was succeeded by his son,

Turquoise accumulates in the clefts like tourmaline water in the deep basin of this sculptural vessel by Yamaguchi Mio dating from 2021. It is 31 cm (12 inches) diameter, 28 cm (11 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Yamaguchi Mio was born in Aichi prefecture in 1992, and graduated advanced studies at the Aichi University of Education in 2017. While still at university, her works were selected for show at the JoryuTogei Ten Female Ceramic Artist Association Exhibition (2014). In 2016 she was awarded at the 3rd Kogei in Kanazawa Competition, Grand Prize at the Ceramic Art in the Present Tense Exhibition at the Hagi Uragami Museum as well received the governors prize at the 5oth Female Ceramic Artist Association Exhibition. In 2017 she was selected for the 11th International Ceramics Competition in Mino. She took a job as a teacher, but could not fight the need to create, so enrolled in the Tajimi City Ceramics research facility, graduating in2020. Her work is currently on view in the Chicago Institute of Arts, and was featured on the cover of the catalog for that exhibition, Radical Clay.
According to Mio: I feel that my fascination towards the natural world’s use of repetition, in bee hives and on the surface of corals, appears in my work as I consume and absorb the world around me. I like to believe that these works are natural forms made by my own hands. When I mold clay, I have a sensation that my body and consciousness blends and binds with the material and the natural world. The process of building upon each coil and applying each fold one by one with my hands is a form of meditation. Through this repetitive process I want to be able to convey my thoughts at the time in the texture, such as my struggle of swaying between the desires to live freely and falling under the pressure from societal expectations. It calms me down to observe the fingerprints left in the surface and see the traces of my existence in the clay. These works are products of what I have absorbed around me.

A large Serving dish covered entirely in a volatile landscape of scholars and winding mountain paths populated by towering temples and bridges spanning precipitous gaps by Shigemori Yoko enclosed in a wooden box titled Sansui E-zara. Performed with blue over a cream colored glaze, it is 33 x 35 x 3.5 cm (roughly 13 x 14 x 1-1/4 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist’s family, with a wooden box signed by her brother Naoki.
Shigemori Yoko (1953-2021) was born in Kagoshima. Yoko came to Kyoto where she initially studied painting at the Kyoto Tankidai Art College, then moved to ceramics at the Kyoto Municipal Art University where she studied traditional pottery techniques under Kondo Yutaka before entering advanced courses under avant-garde Yagi Kazuo, graduating in 1979. Her first solo exhibitions were held while still a student at Gallery Iteza in Kyoto. She eschewed the world of competitive exhibitions in favor of the intimacy of private galleries, and her list of solo exhibitions is expansive. She received the Yagi Kazuo prize in 1986 and 1988 at the Nihon Gendai Togeiten National Modern Ceramics Exhibition. She was one of five artists featured in Toh, volume 76, the first issue dedicated to Kyoto potters. Toh was, at the time

A breathtaking work by Hashimoto Tomonari, deep space covered in random clouds and explosions of color like some precious treasure, the origin of life, from another world. It is roughly 24 cm (9-1/2 inches) diameter, 34 cm (14 inches) tall and weighs 4.2 kilograms and comes enclosed in a signed wooden box from the artist this year.
Hashimoto Tomonari was born the son of a sculptor and has felt comfortable with the processes of creation since childhood. He graduated with a masters from the Kanazawa University of Art in March 2017, then relocated to Shigaraki. A visit to his humble home studio is eye opening. Although he comes across as shy in conversation, when you move on to the subject of art, he is all confidence. He was named a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 and is already making international waves around Asia. He is held in the collection of the V&A London, Los Angeles County Museum and Kalamazoo Institute of Arts among others.

An organic form like some wavering anemone built from tiny curls of rolled ceramic bound together with slip by female artist Furui Akiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Sou Katachi (Following the shape) dating from 2017. It is built of hundreds of rolled sheafs of shaved clay covered in a white slip and fused together. The amount of work which goes into each sculpture is obvious, making her work great value. It is 12-1/2 inches (32 cm) long and in new condition.
Furui Akiko is yet one of our youngest rising stars, she was born in Aichi prefecture in 1987. She graduated the Aichi University of Education in 2010, and had her first pieces exhibited both in and out of Japan that same year. She has since been featured in a number of events both domestic and abroad. A rising star in the Sculptural Ceramics World, get her work while you can!.

Gold disks like suns gleam in a shimmering blue cloud of mother of pearl stars on this dry lacquer vase by Okada Yuji dating from 2011. In the center, a golden spout rises up from a deep pool, like a digitized map of the event horizon of a black hole. An incredible shape and incredible work of art by this important post-war dreamer. Each golden spot visible on teh surface is hirame, not a tissue thin gold overlay, but a solid gold disc embedded into the surface the surface then ground down to reveal the most amount of gold. The vase is 34 cm (13-1/2 inches) diameter and in perfect condition.
Okada Yuji was born in Kyoto in 1948 and graduated with honors from the Kyoto Hiyoshi-ga-oka High School Lacquer Course, Receiving top prize for his graduation project. In 1969 he apprenticed under Ito Hiroshi, and the following year was accepted into the Kyoten (Kyoto Prefectural Art Exhibition) as well as the Kyoto Kogei Bijutsu Sakka Kyokai exhibition (Kyoto Kogei Association of artists) where he would be awarded. This begins his solo career. In 1972 he establishes himself as an independent artist, and his work is accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition. In 1973 he is accepted into the Nihon Gendai Kogeiten (Modern Crafts Exhibition). He would subsequently exhibit regularly with the above mentioned Nitten, Nihon Gendai Kogeiten, Kyoten, Kyoto Kogei Bijutsu Sakka Kyokai and later at the Urushi no Bi-ten (Nihon Shikko Kyokai Japanese Lacquer Association) exhibitions as well as solo and group shows, receiving many awards over the years. Later serving as a judge at several of these events. Throughout the 70s and early 80s he would receive numerous awards. In 1985 he took a professorship at the Dohda Art School. 1996 he enters a new phase, having become well known for restoration of lacquer arts, he begins to actively promote restoration work in addition to creating his own artwork. He would go on to restore over 3500 works of lacquer art before 2022. In 1999 he exhibits three Dry-Lacquer works at the New York Art Festival. This is a turning point in his career, when he begins debuting his latest works overseas in Germany, England and America. He retires from the Kyoto City Dohda Art School in 2003 and establishes a lacquer research center in the Ninenzaka area of Eastern Kyoto. In 2006 he opens the Lacquer Studio Shiun to pass on skills to a younger generation and becomes a member of the International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation. Post 2008 he concentrated on sharing his knowledge and technique with students and on the promotion of lacquer art through symposiums and events around the globe while at the same time continued to research into the techniques and restoration of lacquer artworks. Work by the artist is held in the collections of: the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Denver Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts New York, New Orleans Museum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum and Shanghai Art Museum among many others.

A very rare early sculpture by Imaizumi Masato (now Living National Treasure Imaizumi Imaemon XIV) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shizen to no Kakawari Kata (In Relation to Nature) Plate III. Paper thin shards are embedded in the un-glazed disc of raw white Kaolin clay, a powerful expression indeed on our relationship with the natural world. It is 11 inches diameter and in excellent condition.
Imaizumi Masato succeeded as Imaemon XIV in 2002, heir to a century’s long tradition of working in porcelain. However he studied initially sculpture at Musashino Art University and trained with Suzuki Osamu of Sodeisha fame, and thus has a firm background in the avant garde. Since inheriting the family name he has concentrated on both traditional techniques of Iro-Nabeshima, while exploring new techniques using ink’s feature of repelling pigment and disappearing after firing. In 2009, he was granted the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Emperor. In 2014, he received the ultimate distinction as the youngest artist in Japan ever to be designated a Living National Treasure.

Charred glaze runs in rivulets, blasted around the sides of this Kamahen Bizen vase by Yamamoto Izuru enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The vessel is 10 inches (25.5 cm) tall, roughly 5 inches (13 cm) diameter and in excellent condition.
Yamamoto Izuru was born into the family of famous potter Yamamoto Toshu in 1944. He graduated the sculpture division of Musashino University, then went on to Paris for another two years of sculpting before returning to Bizen to apprentice under his father in plastic arts in 1970. He set out on his own path in 1975, establishing his own kiln. In 1980 he was prized at the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition. His recognition grew in the eighties, being prized at both the Chunichi Kokusai Ceramics Exhibition and having a piece displayed at the Smithsonian and V&A in 1983, then garnering the Kaneshige Toyo prize in 1985, and subsequently acquired by the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1987. In 1995 he built a kiln in Bourgogne France, working with clays from both regions, and this piece is from that period, dating circa 2,000. He has also been the winner of the 19th grand prize at the Tanabe Museum Modern Tea Forms Exhibition and was given the Cultural Award by Okayama Prefecture in 1997. He was named an intangible cultural property of Okayama Prefecture in 2012.

Sweeping arcs filled with liquefied green ash cross this large flat platter by Murakoshi Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hai-yu Shinonome Sara. Shinonome is written East Cloud, and is a poetic term for Dawn, or clouds wavering in the early light of Dawn. Here he has brought the rim out to a razors edge, no easy feat for this rough clay. The vessel is 31 cm (over 12 inches) diameter and in perfect condition. We have the only two the artist ever made, and he said they were so difficult he will not make them again.
Murakoshi Takuma is one of those enigmas who simply lives to work with clay. He does not seek to make a living through pottery, but through his primal approach has earned a following which keeps his work in high demand. He was born in Aichi prefecture in 1954 and began his stroll down the pottery path in 1980 under the tutelage of Kyoto potter Umehara Takehira. Favoring very rough Shigaraki glaze, he established his own kiln in 1997 in the Kiyomizu pottery district of Kyoto, then moved to Nagaoka in 2002. Although eschewing the world of competitive exhibitions, he has been picked up by many of Japan’s preeminent galleries, including private exhibitions at the prestigious Kuroda Toen of Tokyo’s Ginza District.

Shizen-yu ash glaze and deposits crust the surface of this large Shigaraki Tsubo by Hoshino Ryosai enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 13 inches (33 cm) tall, 10 inches (25 cm) diameter and in excellent condition.
Ryosai was born in Fukuoka, on Japan’s Southern Main Island in 1939, and was raised during the impoverished war years. Perhaps it is this will to live instilled through hardship which invigorates so much of this dynamic artists work. He is held in the collection of the Asia Pacific Museum, the Vatican and Ise Shrine, the heart of Japanese Shinto, among others. For more on this artist see SHIGARAKI : Unexpected Transformations: Beauty of Fire and Flame held at the Japanese American Cultural Community Center, LA.

Camellia blossom on this flattened form by Ito Motohiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Nunome Tsubaki Mon Kabin (Cloth Texture Vase with Camellia Design). It is 10 inches (26 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
The artist is a famous Kasama potter, best known for his nunome pattern and exceptional designs. Motohiko was born in Fukuoka prefecture, 1939, and graduated the Tokyo University of Art in 1964, then moved on to advanced courses there, finishing in 1966. While at University he studied under Kato Hajime and Fujimoto Yoshimichi. It was in 1967 his first piece was accepted into the 6th Modern National Crafts Exhibition, and the next year would be spent working under to-be-Living National Treasure Matsui Kosei. His list of prizes and exhibitions is much too long to reproduce, but since 1967, he has Exhibited with the Nihon Dento Kogeiten, Nihon Dento Kogei Shinsaku Ten, Dento Kogei Musashino Ten, Tanabe Museum Modern Tea Forms Exhibition, been the subject of an NHK Television documentary, and participated in a ridiculous number of private exhibits at many of Japans top venues, and has been purchased by the current Emperor in person as well as receiving the Shijuho-sho prize from his majesty.

A spectacular large vase by Kashima Aya featured at the “Ceramic Synergy Exhibition” held at the Kyoto Kyocera Museum of Art in late 2023. In fact, the initial form is created, then a thin layer of ceramic is made separately, dried, then cracked, and the individual pieces are applied like mosaic to the prepared form. The space in between the tiles is then abraded, the tiles glazed with color and the space n between glazed with iron. Each piece requires a great amount of painstaking dedication to complete. It is 26 cm (10 inches) diameter, 52.5 cm (20-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It comes in a signed wooden box with a copy of the Museum exhibition pamphlet upon which it is visible.
Kashima Aya was born in Kanagawa prefecture in 1987. She graduated the Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University, Department of Arts and Culture in 2010. She graduated the Tajimi City Ceramic Design Institute Design Course in 2020, with an additional two years in their advanced Ceramic Lab, graduating in 2022. During this time, she took part in many group exhibitions. She received Nyusen status at the 55th Women's Association of Ceramic Artists (WACA) Exhibition in 2021.

A large work of overlapping strips of sheer porcelain by the demanding young female artist Lu Xueyun enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The vessel is made up of overlapping strips of thin porcelain, so thin in fact that light passes easily through it. Her works are truly exquisite, captivating in their frailty. I have been following the artist (known in Japan by the Japanese reading of her name, Ro-san) for nearly 5 years and waiting for the opportunity to introduce her to the outer world. This is 29.5 x 31.5 x 19 cm (roughly 1 foot diameter x 7-3/4 inches tall) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist
Lu Xueyun was born in Chongqing, China in 1987 and graduated the SiChuan International Studies University in 2010, before taking a position in a Chinese company overseas division. Unsatisfied with corporate life, she enrolled in the Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto, Ceramics Course graduating in 2019, then did two years study at the Ishoken Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center. While there she took part in several juried and group exhibitions, but this is the first time her works have been shown to an international audience.

An inverted cone in deep rust colors by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled, like all his work, “Untitled”. It is 26 cm (10-1/4 inches) diameter, 23 cm (9 inches) tall and in perfect condition, directly from the artist. After forming and sculpting the shapes, they are bisque fired, then glazed and fired again at a relatively low temperature (Between 1000 and 1100 degrees, like Raku ware). Then he builds a brick oven around each piece and brings the temperature up to 500 degrees, and adds millet or rice husk, which carbonizes the surface, creating incredible colors and random patterns leaving the viewer with a feeling like rusted or heated metal. Hashimoto Tomonari was born the son of a sculptor and has felt comfortable with the processes of creation since childhood. He graduated with a masters from the Kanazawa University of Art in March 2017, then relocated to Shigaraki. A visit to his humble home studio is eye opening. Although he comes across as shy in conversation, when you move on to the subject of art, he is all confidence. He was named a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 and is making international waves around the world. Work by him is held in the V&A in London, LACMA and a large sculpture has recently been installed in his home prefecture of Wakayama.

A large broad-footed bowl with precipitous sides covered in black matte glaze by Shigemori Yoko enclosed in a signed wooden box titled Kuro-yu Utsuwa (Black-glazed Vessel) The surface is richly textured, with a slight outward curve at the rim over a raw line scored into the surface. Windows of light like the moon fighting its way through the stormy autumn sky break through the darkness. It is 14 cm (5-3/4 inches) diameter, 10.5 cm (4-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. The box is annotated by her brother Naoki.
Shigemori Yoko (1953-2021) was born in Kagoshima. Yoko came to Kyoto where she initially studied painting at the Kyoto Tankidai Art College, then moved to ceramics at the Kyoto Municipal Art University where she studied traditional pottery techniques under Kondo Yutaka before entering advanced courses under avant-garde Yagi Kazuo, graduating in 1979. Her first solo exhibitions were held while still a student at Gallery Iteza in Kyoto. She eschewed the world of competitive exhibitions in favor of the intimacy of private galleries, and her list of solo exhibitions is expansive. She received the Yagi Kazuo prize in 1986 and 1988 at the Nihon Gendai Togeiten National Modern Ceramics Exhibition. She was one of five artists featured in Toh, volume 76, the first issue dedicated to Kyoto potters. Toh was, at the time

A new series, experimenting with his recently developed glossy white glaze, a chawan with iron decoration by Murakoshi Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Haku-yu Chawan. It is 12 x 13 x 8 cm (4-3/4 x 5 x 3-1/4 inches) and is in perfect condition, directly from the artist this Fall.
Murakoshi Takuma is one of those enigmas who simply lives to work with clay. He does not seek to make a living through pottery, but through his primal approach has earned a following which keeps his work in high demand. He was born in Aichi prefecture in 1954 and began his stroll down the pottery path in 1980 under the tutelage of Kyoto potter Umehara Takehira. Favoring very rough Shigaraki glaze, he established his own kiln in 1997 in the Kiyomizu pottery district of Kyoto, then moved to Nagaoka in 2002. Although eschewing the world of competitive exhibitions, he has been picked up by many of Japan’s preeminent galleries, including private exhibitions at the prestigious Kuroda Toen of Tokyo’s Ginza District.

An iconic bowl flaring out in pure celadon by Fukami Sueharu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Hachi (here he is using a play on sound, as he uses the Kanji character for eight pronounced Hachi in place of the character for bowl with the same reading). It is 22 cm (8-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Fukami Sueharu is synonymous with seihakuji celadon. He has been displayed numerous times at the prestigious Nitten, Nihon Togei Ten (National Japanese Ceramic Exhibition) and Nihon Gendai Kogei Ten (National Japanese Modern Crafts Exhibition) among others. He is held in the Yale University Museum among others. For more information on this artist a quick web-search, or a look at the article highlighting his life in the March 2005 edition of Orientations Magazine will be enlightening. The list of museums holding his work is, in fact, much to long for this page, but includes the National Museums of Modern Art, Tokyo /Kyoto / and Osaka, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Philadelphia St. Louis, Portland, Chicago, Minneapolis, Smithsonian, British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Musée national de céramique, Sèvres, Musée des arts décoratifs, Paris, Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf and the National Gallery of Australia among many others