Koie Ryōji 鯉江良二 1938-2020

One of Japan's most versatile and forward-thinking contemporary artists, KOIE RYŌJI was best known as a ceramist but esteemed for his two-dimensional artwork as well. His love of experimentation led to his creation of "ceramic happenings," with themes that were social and often political critiques of the horrors of the 20th century. Born in 1938 in Tokoname, one of the oldest ceramic centers in Japan, Koie studied ceramics locally but almost immediately developed his iconoclastic style. Rather than labor to preserve tradition, as a young man, he looked to movements in postwar contemporary art such as the abstract expressionist paintings of Jackson Pollock and the found-object ethos of Mono-ha. The gestural application of glazes on his ceramics created dynamic surfaces that reflected this innovative approach. His works can be found in the permanent collections of prominent museums on five continents.

Selected Public Collections:

Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Brooklyn Museum, NY
Dayton Art Institute, OH
Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan
Idemitsu Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Kyungsung University Museum, Busan, South Korea
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland
Museo de Art Moderno, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Museo internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan
Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires, Argentina
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
River Retreat Garaku, Toyama, Japan
San Antonio Museum of Art, TX
Seoul Museum of Art, South Korea
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
Tokoname City Hall, Japan
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
Exhibitions
One of the most versatile and forward-thinking of Japan’s contemporary artists, Koie is best known as a ceramist. His love of experimentation has led to his creation of “ceramic happenings,” with themes that are social and often contain political critiques of the horrors of the 20th century.

1938 Born in Tokoname, Japan.
1962 Worked at Tokoname Ceramic Institute (until 1966)
Began working at the Tokoname Ceramics Research Institute
1966 Became independent
1971 Built a kiln in India
1989 Became Assistant Professor at Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts
1992 Became Professor at Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts
Workshop and a lecture at the University of Western Michigan, Kalamazoo, Michigan
1994 Workshop and a lecture at Scripps University in Claremont, California
Founded his new studio in Ena-gun in Gifu Prefecture.
1998 Workshop at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin

Awards:

1971 International Honorary Grand Prix at the 3rd Vallauris Exhibition, France
1992 Awarded The Japan Ceramic Society Prize
2001 Received The Third Oribe Award
2005 Received The Chunichi Cultural Prize
2008 Japan Ceramic Society Gold Prize

Selected Public Collections:

Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art
Idemitsu Museum
Kyung Sung University Museum, Pusan, Korea
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland
Museo internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu
Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Museo de Art Moderno, Buenos Aires
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia
River Retreat Garaku, Toyama
Seoul Museum of Art
Tokoname City Hall, Aichi
Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art
(1938-2020)

One of Japan's most versatile and forward-thinking contemporary artists, KOIE RYŌJI was best known as a ceramist but esteemed for his two-dimensional artwork as well. His love of experimentation led to his creation of “ceramic happenings,” with themes that were social and often political critiques of the horrors of the 20th century. Born in 1938 in Tokoname, one of the oldest ceramic centers in Japan, Koie studied ceramics locally but almost immediately developed his iconoclastic style. Rather than labor to preserve tradition, as a young man, he looked to movements in postwar contemporary art such as the abstract expressionist paintings of Jackson Pollock and the found-object ethos of Mono-ha. The gestural application of glazes on his ceramics created dynamic surfaces that reflected this innovative approach. His works can be found in the permanent collections of prominent museums on five continents.
Selected Public Collections:

Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Brooklyn Museum, NY
Dayton Art Institute, OH
Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan
Idemitsu Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Kyungsung University Museum, Busan, South Korea
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland
Museo de Art Moderno, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Museo internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan
Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires, Argentina
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
River Retreat Garaku, Toyama, Japan
San Antonio Museum of Art, TX
Seoul Museum of Art, South Korea
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
Tokoname City Hall, Japan
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
Publications