Kaneta Masanao 兼田 昌尚 b. 1953

Born in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

An eighth-generation Hagi potter, KANETA MASANAO has expanded beyond the tradition of his ancestry to create a more sculptural oeuvre. Perhaps due to his training as a sculptor, his forms have a strong and dramatic presence that sets them apart from works by other artists working in this traditional ceramic center. Using the centuries-old Hagi white-pink glazes, Kaneta creates unique and readily identifiable functional and non-functional sculptural forms. His signature technique of kurinuki, in which he digs or scoops-out a form out of the clay instead of shaping it on a wheel, further allows him to boldly depart from ancient Hagi traditions. He tirelessly continues to pursue and challenge new difficult forms that fight against gravity while improving on glazing and firing in a climbing kiln.