Yanagihara Mutsuo 柳原睦夫 Japanese, b. 1934

Dai Ichi Arts is delighted to present our Winter 2022 exhibition “Dreaming in Mino: Oribe & Shino”, exploring the work of modern and contemporary artists who practice in 2 much-loved styles of Japanese pottery: Oribe & Shino yaki.

Famous for its patches of copper green, its variety of colorful gradations that the glaze type permits and playful decorations, Oribe ware is an indispensable part of any Japanese Modern art collection. In its inception, Oribe ware was known for its daring departure from monochrome conventions in pottery during the Keichō and Genna eras (1596–1624). This ahead-of-its-time experimental spirit lives on in modern ceramics in the work of our Autumn selection of artists and potters who are at the forefront of carrying the tradition and spirit of Oribe into the future (Suzuki Goro, Higashida Shigemasa, Kato Yasukage, and more).

Often studied and collected alongside Oribe ware is the much loved Shino pottery type. Shino-yaki was first fired during the Momoyama era (1568-1603) at kilns in Mino (present-day Gifu). Usually fashioned on stoneware, it is characterized by a thick yet porous and viscous glaze. The areas where the glaze does not touch fire a bright vermillion or red where the kiln’s fire has licked the white Mino clay. Traditionally fired in Anagama kilns, Shino-yaki can take on a dramatic appearance with a stark contrast between colors, or subtle, muted tones of white gradation. Modern artists take on this traditional glaze and play with its opacity, for the silica in the glaze may oxidize differently and produce different capacities of translucency. The fine glassy effect can be seen in the examples of Nezumi-shino by Wakao Toshisada. Meanwhile, the work of Tamaoki Yasuo and Hayashi Shotaro showcase the ability of Shino glazes to take on a spectacular, iron-rich, red shade. This exhibition presents the various types of Shino-yaki, showing off various shades of blue-gray, a fiery rust-red, to a clear, pure white.

On the occasion of the spring iteration of Asia Week New York 2022, Dai Ichi Arts is proud to present an exhibition, “Future Forms: Avant-Garde Sculpture in Japanese Ceramics”, showcasing a group of post-war, avant-garde sculptures that exemplify the idea of the "Kiln-Fired Object". Rather, this group of works epitomizes the ideologies of three central figures that pioneered the admission of the sculptural format into the world of Japanese ceramics. Yagi Kazuo 八木 一夫(1918-79), Yamada Hikaru 山田光 (1924-2001), and Suzuki Osamu 鈴木治 (1926-2001)’s philosophies sought to solidfy the role of the non-functional ceramic object in the world of Japanese pottery. As such, this exhibit will showcase the instrumental work of Yamada Hikaru, Suzuki Osamu, Hayashi Yasuo, Yanagihara Mutsuo, and the more contemporary sculptures of Miwa Ryosaku. This group of artworks will also spotlight the work of several distinguished contemporary women sculptors who are part of a vanguard generation of highly influential post-war artists in Japan. For example, the radical works of Tashima Etsuko 田嶋悦子 (b. 1959), Kishi Eiko 岸 映子 (b. 1948), and Sakurai Yasuko 櫻井靖子 (b. 1969), who investigate the use of light and color in their clay. On the other hand, the works of Ayumi Shigematsu 重松あゆみ (b. 1958) and Suhama Tomoko 須浜智子 (b. 1965) explore form and surface as influenced by Suzuki Osamu and West Coast Minimalism. Meanwhile, Matsuda Yuriko 松田百合子 (b. 1943) , Shingu Sayaka 新宮さやか (b. 1979), Kato Mami 加藤真美 (b. 1963) & more elaborate upon decorative motifs, creating surfacescapes on ceramic exteriors. The exhibition brings to light on how female voices have understood the sculptural visual vocabulary & modernisms of the radical Sodeisha Movement. Get in touch today for a copy of our catalogue (digital or in-print), or to arrange a viewing of the full exhibition in an online viewing room, or in-person!

Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd. presents Kind of Blue: Artists Working with Celadon and Beyond, a spring exhibition exploring contemporary iterations of celadon practices. This traditional method, invented in China 3,500...