Shozo Michikawa: Ceramic Art

Description

Torsion and tension are characteristic of the vessels created by the exceptional Japanese ceramicist Shozo Michikawa (b. 1953), whose works are reminiscent of rock strata and lava flows. Michikawa is known for his unique technique, for turning edgy, dynamic sculptures on the potter's wheel. First he cuts and scores a solid block of clay before he carves out the interior hollow through pressing and turning with a rod and his hands. Natural-looking surfaces emerge, just as geological forces formed the earth's surface - an irrepressible energy from the inside out. With a selection of works from the last fifteen years, Shozo Michikawa introduces the first comprehensive insight into his ceramic production, which has attracted attention across the globe.

Clare Pollard is curator of Japanese art at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (UK). Her main area of research is the decorative arts of the Meiji era, in particular the work of the potter Miyagawa Kozan. Nora von Achenbach works as an academic associate and curator for various exhibition projects on Chinese and Japanese arts. Since 2000 she has headed the East Asian and Islamic Department at the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (DE).