Classical Dignity, Contemporary Beauty: Itō Hidehito

Classical Dignity, Contemporary Beauty: Itō Hidehito
September 17 - October 15, 2021
Asia Week New York

For his first solo exhibition outside of Japan, Itō Hidehito has created uniquely personal vessels and sculptural forms displaying his exceptional skill in craquelure celadon. Through steadfast experimentation, Itō pushed himself to create his largest ever works exclusively for his New York debut at Joan B Mirviss LTD. Opening during Asia Week New York this September, Classical Dignity, Contemporary Beauty is the culmination of the gallery's two-year long series showcasing the extraordinary range of ceramics produced in the historic Mino region of Japan that is at the heart of both its longstanding clay tradition and its most innovative interpretations.

ITŌ Hidehito (b. 1971) has not shied away from tackling the long, storied tradition of celadon, nor from engaging with its daunting array of styles. Earlier in his career, he experimented with white porcelain (hakuji) and marbleized (nerikomi) porcelain, but his dedicated study of Song Dynasty ceramics has led to his latest body of work that dives into the variety of celadon types using the exceedingly difficult craquelure technique. Pushing his forms even further, some works are fully sculptural and flaunt the craquelure effect in rounded, spherical shapes or sharply pleated monoliths.

Itō Hidehito was born in Gifu and graduated from the Institute of Ceramic Art and Design in Tajimi City. A few years later in 1996, he built his kiln nearby in Toki City. Celebrated for his tradition-based contemporary explorations of the porcelain medium, his ceramics are characterized by simplicity of form that underscores the beauty of their materials. Through the thinness of their walls, delicacy of form, and elegance of the glazing, Itō's works always convey a remarkable sense of natural movement.

While still a young artist in 1995, he won a major prize for excellence and has been regularly winning awards ever since. In 2017, he won the prestigious Japan Ceramic Society Award. His works can be found in the collections of leading museums in Japan, such as the Paramita Museum, Mie; Mino Ceramic Art Museum, Tajimi; and Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Kasama, and in several museums in the United States, such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI; Cincinnati Art Museum, OH; and Crocker Art Museum, CA.