Yoshikawa Masamichi

YOSHIKAWA MASAMICHII (b. 1946)

Based in Tokoname, Yoshikawa concentrates on creating blue and white seihakuji wares. While traditionally celadon glazed porcelains are celebrated for their thin and sharp form in part due the fine-grained nature of the porcelain clay, Yoshikawa, on the other hand, creates forms that are thick, bold and totally his own. His unique technique and reinterpretation of this classical idiom has received both national and international recognition.

1946 Born in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Japan
1968 Graduate from The Japanese Design Academy
Moved to Tokoname. Studied under Sugie Junpei
1975 Established own kiln
1984 Became a member of International Academy of Ceramics


Awards:

1971 Fine Art Award, Asahi Ceramics Competition, Tokyo
1972 Grand Prize, 3rd International Ceramics Festival, Vallauris, France
The Chôza Prize, The Chôza Ceramic Exhibition
1981 Grand Prize, Asahi Contemporary Ceramic Competition, Nagoya
1983 Grand Prize, Asahi Contemporary Craft Competition, Tokyo
1992 2nd prize, Nyon Porcelain Triennale, Nyon, Switzerland
1998 Gold Medal, Kunst-Messe München (Munich International Art and Craft Exhibition)
1999 Grand Prize, Sapporo Art Park Craft Competition, Hokkaido, Japan
2000 Grand Prize, Izushi Porcelain Triennale Competion, Hyogo, Japan
2001 Bronze Medal, World Ceramic Biennale, Korea
2002 Gold Medal, Vallauris International Biennale of Contemporary Ceramics
2003 Judge's Prize, World Ceramic Biennale, Korea
2004 Grand Prize, 2nd Taiwan International Ceramics Biennale
2006 The Aichi Prefecture Arts and Culture Prize

Solo exhibitions:

1993 Takashimaya Art Gallery, Tokyo
1994 Akasaka Green Gallery, Tokyo (also in '99)
1996 Gallery B15, Munich, Germany
1998 Gallery Vieux-Bourg, Lausanne, Switzerland
1999 A New Sensation of Ceramics, Inaugural Exhibition, INAX Tile Museum, Tokoname, Aichi
Akasaka Green Gallery, Tokyo
Gallery Hirawata, Shonan, Kanagawa
2000 Gallery TEN, Fukuoka
Raisu Gallery, Fukuoka
2002 Gallery Kukansya Shirako, Tokyo
Gallery NAF, Nagoya
2003 Gallery B15, Munich
Gallery Aruigs, Tokyo
Takashimaya Art Gallery, Tokyo
2004 Gallery Kuranonaka, Nagoya
2005 Ceramic mural installation in The Chûbu International Airport at Gallery CEPICA, Tokoname
Maruei Art Gallery, Nagoya
2006 Takashimaya Art Gallery, Nagoya and Tokyo
Contemporary Art Muse Ise, Ise City, Mie
2008 Water of Life, Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, France




Group exhibitions:

1995 Japanese Art & Craft Show, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
1996 Invited to IRIS, International Ceramics Seminar, Porvoo, Finland
International Academy of Ceramics Exhibition, Nagoya and Saga
1997 Invited to Cup Symposium, Teperitza, Czech Republic
1999 SOFA Art Fair, New York (also in '00, '01 and '06)
2000 Collection of Rudolf Strasser, State Museum, Kreuzgang, Germany
UTUWA, Thoughts on Contemporary Vesseles, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Keramik Veje 2000, Copenhagen, Denmark
2000 NHK Yakimono Tanbô (Ceramic Journey) Exhibition, Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi
Art Gallery, Tokyo
2005 Exhibited and published, Fascination of Ceramics, Masterpieces of Modern Japanese Pottery
from the Gisela Freudenberg Collection, Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, Germany
Exhibited and published, Contemporary Clay: Japanese ceramics for the new century, Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston, MA
2006 Exhibited and published, Contemporary Clay: Japanese ceramics for the new century, Japan
Society, New York
Tôji: Avant-Garde et Tradition de la Céramique Japonaise, Musée national de céramique Sèvres,
France
2008-
2009 The Dauer Collection, California State University, Sacramento, University Library Gallery
2009 Summer Exhibition, Galerie Besson, London (illustrated on mailer)

Public Collections:

American Craft Museum, New York, USA
Ariana Ceramic Art Museum, Geneva, Switzerland
Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Chubu International Airport, Nagoya
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Texas, USA
Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany
Incheon World Ceramic Center, Incheon, Korea
International Technical Research and Training Center of Toyota Monument, Toyota
Ito Memorial Museum, Izu
Japan Foundation, Tokyo
Keramik Museum Westerwalds, Germany
Kestner Museum, Hanover, Germany
Landes Holstein Museum, Germany
Musée National de Ceramique Sèvres, France
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
Neuwe Sabulon Museum, Munich, Germany
Nyon Porcelain Museum, Switzerland
Prague Crafts Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
Porvoo City Art Museum, Finland
Sugie Duck Ltd., Tokyo Branch
Tokoname City Museum, Tokoname
Vallauris Ceramic Museum, France
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England
Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan







References:

Gendai no nihon tôgei [Contemporary Ceramics in Japan], vol. 4 Tôkai (Kyoto: Tankôsha, 1989): 134-137.

The Contemporary Potters and Works in Japan, vol. 3 East Division (Tokyo: Shogakkan, 1996): 14-15.

"Seto and Tokoname Artist: Yoshikawa Masamichi." Honoho geijutsu no.70 (Tokyo: Abe shuppan, 2002): 24-27.

Exhibition catalogue, The Fascination of Ceramics, Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Frankfurt, 2005): 202-207

Exhibition catalogue, Contemporary Clay: Japanese ceramics for the new century (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2005): 96-97.

Wege zur Japanischen Keramik: Tradition in der Gegenwart, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst zu Berlin, 2005

Christine Shimizu, Tôji: Avant-Garde et Tradition de la Cèramique Japonaise, Editions de la rèunion des musèes nationaux, Paris, 2006

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