MIWA KAZUHIKO (b. 1951)
Born to the most celebrated ceramics family in Hagi, Miwa Kazuhiko is the son of National Living Treasure Kyūsetsu XI and brother of Ryōsaku (former Kyūsetsu XII). The family established the Miwa kiln in 1663, and began producing tea ceramics from 1666. Despite this lofty artistic heritage and environment, it was the powerful ceramics of the American clay artist Peter Voulkos that directed Kazuhiko (now Kyūsetsu XIII) to the artistic freedom in the United States. There he studied at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1975-1981. In his recent bold, angular and sculptural forms, the rich, creamy white Hagi glaze beads up revealing the red clay that sometimes fires to black. In addition to his bold sculptural work, Miwa also creates elegant and refined tea ware.
1951 Born in Hagi City, Yamaguchi as the third son of Miwa Kyusetsu
1975-81 Studied at San Francisco Art Institute
May 15, 2019 Inherited the name Miwa Kyūsetsu XIII
Solo exhibitions:
1987 Ever Dusting Destruction, Gallery Ueda, Tokyo (also ’89)
1988 Seibu Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo
1991 Dreams in White, Mitsukoshi Art Gallery, Tokyo (also in ’92, ’96, ’03, ’08, ’11)
1992 Clay-Metamorphosis in White, Takanawa Seibu Gallery, Tokyo
1996 Shining Circle, Mitsukoshi Art Gallery, Nihonbashi, Tokyo
1997 The Dead End of Dean End, Saitôan Loft Gallery, Hagi (also in ’06)
1999 Takashimaya Art Gallery, Tokyo and Kyoto (also ’01, ’05, ’06)
2000 Dance in White, Shibuya Kurodatôen, Tokyo
Tea Room of Miwa Kazuhiko: REI, Uragami Memorial Hall, Hagi Museum, Hagi, Yamaguchi
2002 Nihonbashi Matsuzakaya Art Gallery, Tokyo
2007 Matsuzakaya Art Gallery, Nagoya (also in ’12)
2009 Sogo Art Gallery, Hiroshima
2013 Tenmaya Art Gallery, Okayama and Fukuyama
2015 Ichibata Art Gallery, Matsue, Shimane
Group exhibitions:
1984 What One Sees in Large Earthenware; Modern Ceramic Art II, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi
1987 Object in Imaginary Space, Seibu Art Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo
1988 Objects for On & Around the Desk, Seibu Art Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo
Eastern & Western Modern Ceramic Art, Art Center, Seoul, Korea
Fire which Transforms, joint exhibition with Nakagawa Yukio, Gallery Saitôan, Hagi
1989 Art Exciting ‘89, Saitama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Urawa, Saitama
Exhibited at Queensland Museum of Art in Queensland, Australia
1990 Primitivism’ in the Contemporary Ceramics, Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art, the Shigaraki Ceramic Culture Park, Shiga
Nishi-Seto Contemporary Arts, the Ehime Prefectural Museum of Art, Matsuyama
1991 Various Solid Expressions, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi
1992 58 Contemporary Ceramic Artists in Japan, Mitsukoshi Étoile, Paris, France and Mitsukoshi Art Gallery, Nihonbashi, Tokyo
1992 The Vision of Japanese Ceramic Arts, Seibu Art Galleries, Ikebukuro,
Tokyo and Kobe
1993 A Hunch of Materia, Masuda Studio, Tokyo (also in '96, '97)
1996 Artworks in Imaginary Space, Contemporary Art NIKI, Tokyo
Tradition and Innovation in Miwa kiln, Matsuzakaya Art Gallery, Nagoya, Aichi
Contemporary Ceramics from Sanyo and San’in Region III, Higashi-Hiroshima Municipal Museum, Horoshima
2000 Tea Room – REI, Uragami Memorial Hall, Yamaguchi Prefectural Hagi
Museum, Yamaguchi
400 Years of Hagi Ware, Paris, France
Contemporary Ceramics from Sanyo and San’in Region IV, Higashi-Hiroshima Municipal Museum, Hiroshima
2002 Charaku san’nin ten; Three Tea Pots Masters, with Suzuki Gorô and Kakurezaki Ryûichi, Seigetsudō Gallery, Tokyo
Artists from Hometown, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum, Yamaguchi
Asia Pacific Contemporary Ceramics, Taipei Contemporary Ceramic Art
Museum, Taiwan
2003 Contemporary Master Ceramists of Western Japan, Ibaraki Ceramic Art
Museum, Ibaraki
2005 NHK Heart Exhibition, NHK Tokyo
Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale 2005, Icheon, South Korea
2006 Inaugural Special Exhibition III, Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo
Ceramic Art Grand Prize Exhibition, Paramita Museum
2009 Tō: Gendai no kyosho7 (Ceramics: Modern Masters), Mitsukoshi Art Gallery, Tokyo
2010 Color, Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu
2011 Pioneers of Contemporary Ceramics: from Tomimoto Kenichi to Yagi Kazuo, Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo
Objet, Uragami Memorial Hall, Hagi Museum, Hagi, Yamaguchi
Gold Award Winners from Japan Ceramic Society, Wako Hall, Tokyo
2013 Breaking the Mold, The Salon: Art and Design Fair with Joan B. Mirviss Ltd., NY
2014 Japan in Black and White: Ink and Clay (Asia Week New York), Joan B. Mirviss Ltd., New York, NY
2016 A Palette for Genius: Japanese Water Jars for the Tea Ceremony, Asia Week New York exhibition in collaboration with Shibuya Kurodatoen Co., Joan B Mirviss LTD, New York, NY
References:
Toh; Miwa Kazuhiko, vol. 90, Kyoto: Kyoto Shoin, 1993.
Kazuhiko; Dead End,” Toward a 21st Century Renaissance in Ceramics, vol. 2, Dōhōsha, pp. 265- 91.
Wege zur Japanischen Keramik: Tradition in der Gegenwart, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst zu Berlin, 2005.
Nihon Tōgei-ten (Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition 2009), Tokyo: Mainichi Shimbun, 2009: p. 50.
“Hagi - Miwagama no kakushin (Hagiyaki & Miwa Kiln Innovations): Miwa Kazuhiko)”, Honoho, No. 113, Tokyo: Abe Shuppan, 2013, pp.50-61, English Summery p. 3/6.
Author - Joan Mirviss
