{"id":42506,"date":"2024-12-19T11:27:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T19:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/japanesegarden.org\/?post_type=event&p=42506"},"modified":"2025-07-21T14:41:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T21:41:33","slug":"earthen-elegance-the-ceramic-art-of-bizen","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/japanesegarden.org\/events\/earthen-elegance-the-ceramic-art-of-bizen\/","title":{"rendered":"Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This February, Portland Japanese Garden is pleased to present Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen <\/em>in the Pavilion Gallery.<\/em> On loan from the Collection of David Sneider and Naomi Pollock, <\/em>this exhibition celebrates contemporary ceramic art and vessels that preserve a time-honored collaboration of earth, fire, and the artist\u2019s hand. Recognized as one of the Rokkoy\u014d<\/em> (\u516d\u53e4\u7aaf) Six Ancient Kilns of Japan, Bizen is a ceramic center that has continued its unique form of pottery for over 900 years. Notable for their rustic, textured, and unglazed forms, the ceramics featured in Earthen Elegance <\/em>reveal the depths of the Bizen pottery tradition. Today the town of Bizen hosts nearly 300 active kilns with artists continuing to use local materials and an ancient wood-firing process. Featuring work by many of Bizen\u2019s leading potters including Jun Isezaki and Ry\u016bichi Kakurezaki, the exhibition presents both functional vessels and innovative sculptural forms that expand the frontier of Bizen ware. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artwork by Jun Isezaki, 2007. Photo by Chris Cassidy.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Artwork by Masahiro Miyao, 2005. Photo by Chris Cassidy. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About the collection:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

David Sneider, an international lawyer, and Naomi Pollock, an architect and author, lived and worked in Japan for 30 years. Deeply moved by the artistry and craftsmanship of Japanese pottery, they assembled an extensive collection which spans the full horizon of contemporary Japanese ceramics.  Within Bizen ceramics, they marvel at how a particularly large number of innovative artists are applying local materials and time-honored techniques to create work that respects tradition and yet is truly modern.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollock has written numerous books on Japanese architecture and design, including her most recent books Japanese Design Since 1945: A Complete Sourcebook<\/em> and The Japanese House Since 1945<\/em>. For these collectors, the rough, powerful, and unglazed surface of Bizen pottery resonates with the natural setting of a Japanese garden, especially as the warm, earthen tones on the vessels\u2019 surfaces create an inviting contrast to the colder winter months. Showcasing these unique expressions in clay born from centuries of tradition, Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen <\/em>will be on display from February 8, 2025 \u2013 June 9, 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ceramics are an important artform throughout Japanese culture, and Bizen ceramics have a special history and relationship to tea ceremonies. For the duration of the exhibition, be sure to attend a tea ceremony demonstration<\/a> and you may see Bizen-ware in use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Virtual Tour<\/h2>\n\n\n\n