The aesthetic effect of layering clay has long fascinated and delighted people across cultures, from England to China, but arguably reached its pinnacle in modern-day Japan. This spring, Joan B Mirviss LTD celebrates the extraordinary achievements of three past masters who revitalized this ancient technique and creatively expanded the seemingly simple idea of building clay upon clay: Matsui Kōsei, Miyashita Zenji, and Ogata Kamio. Their artistry was impossible to achieve without their equally astonishing technical skills; developed steadily over time, with patience and experimentation, their deft manipulation of clay enabled them each in their own ways to achieve dazzling color contrasts, unexpected surface effects, and swirls or gradations of textures and colors that complemented their vessels’ forms. Many of the artworks by those masters in this exhibition have been acquired directly from the estates of the artists, with the blessings of their families, and are obviously fresh to the market. In addition, seven other Japanese ceramic artists who were contemporaries of or successors to their innovative legacy will be displayed in Layered Clay.
“Vibrantly colored layered clays are used to such an extent…that the conventional, narrow view of neriage has been shattered” said Hasebe Mitsuhiko former curator of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1990 when speaking of the layered clay works of modern-day Japanese ceramic artists. Their use of the painstaking technique of cutting, forming, and shaping layers of colored clay to form their visually mesmerizing ceramics has often been likened to creating three-dimensional mind games. This ancient technique, known as neriage or nerikomi originated in 8th century China, spread to Korea in the 12th century then to Enlgand in the 18th century before coming to its pinnacle in modern-day Japan.
This spring, Joan B Mirviss LTD celebrates the extraordinary achievements of three past masters who revitalized this ancient technique and creatively expanded the seemingly simple idea of building clay upon clay: Matsui Kōsei, Miyashita Zenji, and Ogata Kamio. Their artistry was impossible to achieve without their equally astonishing technical skills. Developed steadily over time, with patience and experimentation, their deft manipulation of clay enabled them each in their own ways to achieve dazzling color contrasts, unexpected surface effects, and gradations of textures and colors that complemented their vessels’ forms. Many of their artworks have been acquired directly from the estates of the artists, with the blessings of their families, and are obviously fresh to the market. In addition, work by seven other Japanese ceramic artists who were contemporaries of, or successors, to their innovative legacies will be displayed in Layered Clay.
In the modern era no one recovered and reinterpreted ancient marbleizing techniques as profoundly and as expertly as Matsui Kōsei (1927-2003). A priest at the Gessō-ji Temple in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, Matsui studied numerous examples of ancient Chinese marbleized ceramics. Far surpassing these historic precedents, Matsui created original abstract and geometric surface patterns using a variety of techniques. In recognition of his research into this difficult process, he was designated a Living National Treasure in 1993. A selection of his astonishing range will be on display in Layered Clay, from rounded vessels with stratified colors in a rough-hewn texture to large, smooth vases with mosaic-like, botanical patterns blooming across the surface.
Miyashita Zenji (1939-2012) took a different approach to layering clay. Using his unique saidei (colored-clay overlay) technique, Miyashita applied extremely thin layers of delicately colored clay in irregular gradated bands to cover his sculptural vessels. The result was an utter transformation of the surfaces into undulating landscapes that evoked distant hills, drifting clouds, or rolling waves. Kyoto-born Miyashita was the eldest son of a distinguished porcelain artist. He attended Kyoto City University of Arts and studied under the influential master ceramist Tomimoto Kenkichi and Living National Treasure Kondō Yūzō. Miyashita was affiliated with Seitōkai and the Nitten groups, exhibiting in their annual competitions, which he won 18 times. In Kyoto he also encountered and was influenced by the work of avant-garde co-founders of Sōdeisha, Yagi Kazuo and Suzuki Osamu.
By contrast, Ogata Kamio (1949-2022) was far removed from traditional pottery centers as he resided in Hokkaido, in northern Japan. Freed from any expectations, as a result his work reflected a singular creative vision. His totally unique and optically stunning marbleized ceramics took ancient Chinese precedents to a whole other level of execution. Ogata’s neriage technique involved an assemblage of hundreds of paper-thin layers of colored clay to create a single vessel with distinct, striated, linear patterns. Taking the swirling effect of the clay even further, he created multi-ridged, folded, and pleated forms that heightened the already mesmerizing effects of the marbleized clay. The many fine layers of graduated blue, teal, gray, and whites coupled with the pleated surfaces created an optical illusion of movement, as if waves were rippling through the vessel.
Vessels by other artists exhibited in this show include: Harada Shūroku, Living National Treasure Itō Sekisui V, Kawase Shinobu, Kakurezaki Ryūichi, Saeki Moriyoshi, Takiguchi Kazuo, and Wakao Kei. Layered Clay will be on view at Joan B Mirviss LTD from May 1 to June 21, 2024.
About Joan B. Mirviss LTD
With more than forty-five years of experience, Joan B. Mirviss remains a pillar in the field of Japanese art. As a dealer, scholar, curator, and advisor, she has been the driving force championing the top Japanese clay artists, who she represents exclusively, and whose works she has placed in major museums around the globe. Widely published as a highly respected expert, Mirviss has built many institutional and private collections of Japanese art.
JOAN B MIRVISS LTD exhibits modern and contemporary Japanese ceramics, ukiyo-e, and Japanese paintings from its exclusive Madison Avenue location in New York City.
For more information, please contact us at 212-799-4021 or director@mirviss.com.
Our illustrated catalogue is viewable here.
A video accompanying the exhibtion on the history of nerikomi is avaialble to watch here.
