彩泥器
Ceramic
H11 3/8 x W13 3/4 x D5 7/8 in (H29 x W35 x D15 cm)
(C26726)
Mitsukuni Misaki has an urge to create powerful, lifelike works, encapsulating the dual strength and subtlety of beauty in nature. His works have an unnameable sensation, with asymmetrical works conveying the desire for serenity. The works are referred to as Saiyuudeiki, noted by the Japan Ceramic Society Director Koichi Mori for a well-balanced, ample form. Saiyuudeiki loosely translates to ‘colored stoneware vessels,’’ with Sai 彩 as color, Yuu 釉 as glaze, Dei 泥 as clay and Ki 器 as vessel. The style stands in marked contrast to Bian-hu, a sleeker, flatter part of his cannon.
Times continue to change But only when the rhythm and pace of my body adapt I am drawn by the look and touch of a maturing artwork Slow against time’s movement Is it light or air that moves me? I create to keep feeling the connection With the sense of familiar emanating That I cannot quite describe
Oval Jar – 扁壺E
2023
Ceramic
H11 3/4 x W17 3/8 x D6 1/4 in (H30 x W44 x D16 cm)
(C26922)
Yukiya Izumita is the leading ceramicist of Japan’s northeast Tohoku arts region. From his kiln in Iwate prefecture’s Noda village, Izumita constructs layered sculptures that reflect the harsh seaside culture. Built from salt-rich clay collected from the coastal beaches, Izumita’s tiered sculptures come to resemble the strange and fantastical natural formations of rock and sand. Izumita is the recipient of the 20th Biennial Japanese Ceramic Art Exhibition’s Excellence Award and the Grand Prize at the Asahi Ceramic Exhibitions of 2000 and 2002. His pieces are in collections including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Iwate Museum of Art.
Teca Rame, 2009
2009
Glass
H16 1/2 x W11 3/4 x D3 1/2 in (H42 x W30 x D9 cm)
(C26913)
Born in Venice, Laura de Santillana studied classics and architecture before moving to New York City, where she worked with the Vignelli Associates studio whilst attending the School of Visual Arts. De Santillana went on to design art books and began designing objects and lamps for the family business, Venini, alongside her father Ludovico. Founded with her father and brother, de Santillana served as art director of EOS until 1993.
Following a commission to design a kaiseki range in glass, Laura began a long working relationship with Japan, notably alongside lacquer master Suzuki Mutsumi. From 1999 until her death in 2019, de Santillana committed herself to innovating glass techniques; it is during this period that she created many of her iconic works, including her signature standing glass series.
Shigeru Uchida designed three different structural forms of tea houses: Ji-an, the house of perception; So-an, the home of composition; and Gyo-an, the place of memories. Built-in bamboo and Japanese cypress as the base. They can be dismantled and re-erected in various locations. When one enters the tranquil space, they are gently wrapped like a bird in a nest. The safe space blankets the visitor with a calm and serene atmosphere.
Ippodo Gallery has the privilege to use the Ji’an tea house made by the artist Shigeru Uchida. Born in Yokohama in 1943, Uchida graduated from the Kuwasawa Design School in 1966. In 1970 Uchida started his firm, Uchida Design Studio, and later in 1981 established Studio 80 with Toru Nishioka. As a leading Japanese designer, Uchida has engaged in various design projects such as several interior works, furniture, products, and urban planning in Japan and abroad.
Moonlight / 月の光
2022
Stainless steel
Aluminum
Carbon fiber
Polyester cloth
Φ：1586 mm, 62.4 in
H：1605 mm, 63.1 in
(B24760)
Susumu Shingu creates sculptures that move by the power of wind. Although originally trained as a painter, Shingu became interested in sculpture when he saw one of his shaped canvases turning softly in the wind. The work that followed relied on natural forces to make movement and sound, and he began using more sophisticated materials for outdoor works. His work walks the fine line between complementing nature and existing as a natural integration. The pieces, though large, colorful, and usually made of modern materials, adopt nature’s rhythms in their movement.
Accelerator” Incense Container – 八方百千加速香合
2023
Urushi Lacquer, Cypress, Mother-of-Pearl, Turbo Snail
H2.4 x W6.4 x D6.4 cm (H0.94 x W2.5 x D2.5 in)
(C25709P)
Terumasa Ikeda is an innovative raden specialist; using a laser cutter, Ikeda fabricates shimmering mother-of-pearl Arabic numerals ingrained into the exterior of the lacquered box, creating a holographic luminescence that emanates from within. Ikeda takes a modern approach to his iconography, transforming the lacquer surface into the likeness of a digital screen. As functional objects, Ikeda’s futuristic vessels bridge the worlds of classical and modern lacquer.
Ofukei Lacquer Large Jar – 漆貫入彩御深井大壺
2023
Ceramic
H17 3/8 x W18 1/8 x D17 3/8 in (H44.2 x W46 x D44 cm)
Weight 22.2kg
(C26219)
One of the youngest artists in Ippodo Gallery’s repertoire, the ceramic works of Kodai Ujiie are refreshingly avant-garde. Since his debut exhibition in 2014, Ujiie’s colorful and abstract wares have interpolated the kintsugi lacquer mending technique and experimented with unusual celadon colors. Ujiie now works from his kiln in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture.
Lingering Scent – 残香
2023
Painting
H46 x W35 7/8 in (H117 x W91 cm)
(A26843)
Sparks fly
A chariot streaks across the sky
…
Full to bursting
Having swallowed the sun
Boom
…
Afterwards
With a lowered head
Plays the fool
…
The searing silhouette
And smell of gunpowder
Hangs in the air
December 14, 2023 – January 13, 2024
Opening reception with the Artist: December 14 from 6-8pm
The Kyōto-based metalsmith, Shota Suzuki, returns to Ippodo Gallery for his second solo exhibition in the United States.
The Eternal Garden is a paradox where time is meaningless and the seasons converge. Suzuki’s collection features more than 30 works including dandelions, ginkgos, sakura blossoms, and violets hand-wrought from precious metals including gold, silver, nickel, and brass. Step into a handcrafted refuge teeming with metal come to life and fleeting moments.
Ippodo Gallery presents Forms and Formations, featuring great names in contemporary Japanese fine art at Design Miami 2023. At this moment, it seems the world lives in a state of uncertainty. Everywhere, people face threats new and old, those which they can control and those which are beyond the scope of a single person. As countries become more globalized and communication happens increasingly online, art is impacted by changes in how people gather information in a digital society.
Adhering to our mission of presenting the works of living Japanese artists, Ippodo Gallery continues to believe in the power and importance of human handiwork—a modern source of unique beauty—as a physical object, rather than information.
An object has a form.
Forms change, and so they should. Ippodo Gallery aims to highlight the plurality of objects as formations. In an age that demands transformation—it seems the attention span is always seeking new stimulation—we exhibit works based on the themes of change, lightness, and the plurality of formations.
Discover the many contemporary Japanese artists whose work triangulates our lives on this shared planet in the language of forms and formations.
ABOUT THE GALLERY
Ippodo Gallery is a cultural bridge to Japan’s living master artists. Founded in Tokyo (1996-), the New York gallery (2008-) presents fine handcrafted and rare works created using traditional materials and methods. Each piece selected embodies Japanese aesthetic sensitivity that is born of a spiritual bond with nature. Ippodo’s exhibition program features unique objects — fine ceramics, lacquerware, metal crafts, sculpture, paintings, and works on paper — that celebrate human invention, the natural world, and sublime beauty.
