About
Education
2019 Summer workshop session at Penland School of crafts, NC, USA / Peters Valley School of crafts, NJ , USA
2015 Completed Ceramics Art and Science course at Tajimi technical school, Gifu pref
1998 Kindai University, school of agriculture, department of Food Science and Nutrition(B. Agr.)
Residence
2019 Open studio residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, ME, USA
Artist statement
Born in the town of Yokkaichi in the Mie prefecture, a city well-known for its ceramics, into a family of ceramics wholesalers, I have naturally come to think about what I can, as an artist, contribute to contemporary ceramics and what I can accomplish in the medium.
The ideas underpinning my individual projects vary, however, my interests are mainly expressed in two themes. One concerns animals and plants that I become interested in and then research. Based on my research into their biology and cultural significance, I translate this information into sculptural allegories, such as a whale traveling through the oceans around the earth, or and a bear portrayed as a king or god in the forests. Folk tales and myths–such as the stories of the indigenous Ainu people of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, and the Norwegian fairy tale The Three Billy Goats Gruff (De tre bukkene Bruse)–are another important source for my work. Like reliefs in churches and the decorated transoms of Japanese temples, I am interested in expressing narratives as three-dimensional objects.
I build my work by hand, using silicon molds of natural objects and clay tablets to give the surface different kinds of texture. I want my work to root into the real, even though it appears far from reality, therefore I choose colors that are neither too realistic nor too fanciful.
The surfaces of my ceramic sculptures are inspired by the various patterns one encounter in the natural world, such as wind ripples, geological layers, and the systematically ordered images as revealed through the lens of the microscope. This reflects my interest in the laws of nature, which shows that even a disordered, organic object contains an ordered, mathematical, systematic aspect if one observes it very closely. With the tiny and myriad parts on the surface of my sculptures, I explore the order and the disorder, suggesting an idea of how one whole entity is comprised of myriad aspects and countless parts.
Award
2020 Accepted,2020 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale
2020 Special Jury Prize,34th Yokkaichi Banko-ware Ceramic art competition
2018 Accepted,The 7th Taiwan International Gold Teapot Prizes Pottery Design Competition
2017 Accepted , The 11th International Ceramics Competition Mino
2017 First Prize,31st Yokkaichi Banko-ware Ceramic art competition
2015 Accepted, Meijer×Shigaraki Award
2013 Finalist,Contemporary Chanoyu Award 2013
2011 First Prize,25th Yokkaichi Banko-ware Ceramic art competition
Shows(celected group shows & solo exhibitions)
2020 Solo exhibition at Galerie LA CACHETTE, Nagoya , Aichi
2019 Solo exhibition [ sense of wonder ] at art gallery OPPO, Asagaya , Tokyo
2019 Group show,Frogs Exhibition at Mireya gallery , Ginza , Tokyo
2019 Group show, Shape of YOI at Gallery Voice , Tajimi , Gifu
2019 Group show, Cat at GALLERY CLEF , Gifu , Gifu
2019 Solo exhibition at gallery SUKI 2F , Kounan, Aichi
2019 Group show, Various plates and Sake ware at Galerie LA CACHETTE, Nagoya , Aichi
2019 Group show, KEMONO ten at cafe × gallery Jalona, Akasaka, Tokyo
2018 Group show, the zodiac at Daimaru Shinsaibashi(Tosei contemporary ceramic art salon ) , chuoku , Osaka
2018 Group show: 100 tastes 100 sake cups at Utsuwaya Akane , Sakyo-ku , Kyoto
2017 Favorite Shape : group show at gallery SUKI , Kounan , Aichi
2017 Solo exhibition [ Where the wild and wonderful things are at art gallery OPPO, Asagaya , Tokyo
2016 Group show, 2016 THE NEXT, MINO CERAMICS at Mino Ceramic Museum Tanjimi
2015 Group show,Art Fourum Mie 2015
2015 Group show, 2015 THE NEXT, MINO CERAMICS at Mino Ceramic Museum Tanjimi
Event
2019 Bunkamura Winter Craft Collection 2019 1st term at Bunkamura Gallery ,Shibuya , Tokyo.
2019 Event : Korekara no Tukuribito : Craftmanship in future , Mitsukoshi Nagoya sakae store,Nagoya,Aichi
2018 SHIBUYA CRAFT ARTS 2018 at SHIBUYA hikarie, shibuya, Tokyo
2017 Te To Ma at Yakimono Sanpo michi , Tokoname , Aichi
2017 Craft Park at Shibuya Hikarie , Shibuya , Tokyo
2017 Crafts fair Matsumoto 2017 at Agatanomori Park , Matsumoto , Nagano
2016 Tensai 108 at Daihonzan Zojoji Temple
2016 summer craft collection 2016 at Shibuya HIKARIE 8/court
2015 Selection artist, International Ceramic Art Festival in sasama 2015
Shiraki Chika