Japanese Exhibition

“My work is not about the designs, culture nor knowledge that words can express.”

Kenta Anzai finds significance in creating an object filled with character, one that adds to the atmosphere it inhabits rather than detracts from it. Driven by questions on existence—how we exist, the place we occupy, with whom we share the fundamental elements of life, and so forth—Kenta works on each piece for one to two months. This he does until he feels its ‘essence’ is complete as this creates the ties that bond people together and with him. Doing so despite the Japanese belief that potters should not dedicate too much time on making a masterpiece so as to not overstate.

To achieve his white finish he polishes the porcelain and applies a few layers of white slip to the work. He attains his signature black by mixing into the clay urushi, a natural Japanese lacquer, this he adds as a glue that he then applies to the stoneware body in multiple layers which are then polished. After studying ceramics in Kyoto and assisting Daniel Smith in the UK, Kenta returned to Japan where he studied porcelain under Taizo Kuroda. 

“Through my work I am trying to explore the beauty and materiality while obtaining the functions of everyday objects.”

Inspired by the everyday, Mizuyo Yamashita throws miniature forms on the potter’s wheel that are a blend of modern European interior design and traditional Japanese techniques such as shinogi, Mishima and kohiki. The combination of various clays and the unglazed finish blend to reveal the medium’s innate qualities.

Born In Niigata and working Tochigi since 2015, Ibaraki’s earthenware works are piece-unique, all hand-built with natural glazes that evoke buried treasure. The earthy palette and its metallic appearance are the result of the chemical reaction to the firing of clay. This alchemy is obtained with the use of glazes containing cobalt or copper and clays composed of other metals.

Nobue studied fashion design at Bunka Fashion College and ceramic design at Tajimi Pottery Design and Technical Center.