
Born 1950, Fukue, Nagasaki, Japan
KAKUREZAKI RYŪICHI is a highly celebrated artist whose exhibitions in Japan often sell out within minutes of opening. Kakurezaki was born in Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu, and now lives and works in Imbe, the ancient home of Bizen ware. He has the advantage of being viewed as an outsider in Imbe, which allows him to experiment in ways that most of the other 500 potters working there cannot. While he works within the tradition of Bizen, his work is quite aesthetically different from conventional Bizen wares. His fresh and independent vision has inspired other potters to contend with classical forms, and has already established a standard of his own.
"I do not intend to create something avant-garde in the Bizen style. My works are always functional, and I create ‘crafts’ that are indispensable for everyday life. I think it important that professional potters should create something in response to the needs of our society. My preference is to be seen as a craftsman whose work is avant-garde, rather than an avant-garde artist.”
KAKUREZAKI RYŪICHI in Honoho Geijutsu 67 (2001): pp. 16-17
Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago
Selected Public Collections:
Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Higashi Hiroshima Museum, Japan
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
Musée Tomo, Tokyo, Japan
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
Musée national de céramique, Sèvres, France
Tanabe Museum, Matsue, Japan
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Konkou hakudei kaki; “Mixed Clay Vessel with White Slip Glaze”
Tapered conical vessel of blended clay with white glazed collar and fire marks at base
2021
Glazed stoneware, fired in an anagama kiln
SOLD
Conical Bizen water jar with a cover
2018
Unglazed stoneware
8 1/2 x 9 x 6 1/4 in.
Inv# 10867
SOLD
Two-color, Bizen vessel with protruding feet and upswept mouth
2014
Unglazed wood-fired bizen stoneware
15 3/4 x 7 x 6 5/8 in.
SOLD
Irregular pentagon standing vase
2018
Unglazed stoneware
20 3/4 x 15 1/4 x 10 1/2 in.
Inv# 10868
SOLD
Rectangular platter
2010
Marbleized stoneware with ash glaze
5 x 33 1/2 x 15 1/2 in.
Inv# 7968
SOLD
Pair of standing figures
2010
1. Black bizen stoneware;
2. Hidasuki-marked bizen stoneware
19 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 7 in.; 21 5/8 x 7 7/8 x 8 1/4 in.
Inv# 7321
SOLD
Round dark vessel with textured surface and carved irregular mouth
2009
Black Bizen stoneware
14 x 13 in.
SOLD
Large oblong vase
2005
Stoneware with natural ash glaze
17 6/8 x 35 6/8 x 10 1/4 in.
SOLD
Footed sculptural vessel
2004
Stoneware with natural ash glaze
20 x 7 x 7 in.
SOLD
“Dancing” vase with one arm up
2004
Stoneware with natural ash glaze
11 2/8 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.
Inv# 4969
SOLD
Bizen sculptural vessel with upraised angled wing
2002
Unglazed Bizen stoneware
13 3/8 x 6 x 50 3/8 in.
SOLD
"Stand Up to Adversity"
1998
Natural ash-glazed Bizen stoneware
22 1/4 x 10 x 6 1/8 in.
Inv# 10542
SOLD