Fired by Tradition: Masterworks by Nishihata Tadashi
June 8 - July 29, 2011

  • Joan B. Mirviss LTD is pleased to announce our summer exhibition "Fired by Tradition: Masterworks by Nishihata Tadashi, featuring a completely fresh body of work by this Tanba master.

    Based in the charming riverside town of Tachikui in Hyogo Prefecture, home to the medieval ceramic center of Tanba, NISHIHATA TADASHI (b. 1948) works in the centuries-old traditions of his ancestors. As one of the six ancient kilns of Japan, Tanba has long been celebrated for its simple storage jars, vases and sake implements made from the local iron-rich clay and fired either unglazed or with natural and applied ash glazes. Somewhat remotely located, about equidistant between Kyoto and Osaka, Tachikui has remained a lovely, tranquil spot surrounded by hills and populated with family-run ceramic studios.

    On a hillside facing the Shitodani River valley, Nishihata Tadashi lives and works where he studied with his father (Sueharu) and where his family has potted since the Edo Period. A master of the Tanba ceramic tradition, he is responsible for re-inventing the ancient art of red akadobe glazing following decades of experimentation. However it is his unique colorful ash glazing (hai-yu) that is the focus of this current exhibition. Melted by the heat of the firing (yohen), the ash glaze runs and drips over the uneven sculpted clay surfaces and pools into their recesses. Ranging from pale aqua to deep emerald green, this luscious glaze, punctuated with occasional touches of iron-oxide glaze, beautifully complements his faceted forms. Grounded in tradition and deeply conscious of his family’s ceramic heritage, Nishihata continues to explore the dialogue between functional material and sculpture while remaining inspired by the scenery around him.

    Nishihata has won numerous awards in Japan, commencing in 1976 with a special award from Hyogo Prefecture for emerging talents. In a span of only a dozen years, he has been thrice awarded the prestigious Grand Prize at the Chanoyu zôkei (Modern Forms of Tea Ware) sponsored by the Tanabe Museum of Art.

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