Shozo Michikawa Ceramic Art

by Pollard, Clare; Von Achenbach, Nora

• ISBN13: 9783897905054
• ISBN10: 3897905051
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2017-11-09
• Publisher: Arnoldsche Verlagsanstalt

Summary

•With around 70 works from 2003 to 2017 by the Japanese ceramic artist Shozo Michikawa (b. 1953)

•Michikawa's pots, with their irregular shape, granular texture, and rich earthen hues are so poetic in their appearance that they have been likened to 'haikus in clay'

•Shozo Michikawa's work is highly sought after throughout the world. The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg; LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford; National Museum of Walses, Cardisff; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Qinglingsi Temple, Xi'an and Shimada City Museum are among the institutions that have acquired his work

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.

This book accompanies an exhibition, which will tour between venues: Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA (US), 3rd to 24th June 2017; Erskine, Hall & Coe, London (UK), 11th October. to 2nd November 2017.
The artist is active on facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/shozo.michikawa

Author Biography

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 für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (DE).