SHIGARAKI: Contemporary Artists on an Ancient Tradition

ZOOM Gallery Talk
Shigaraki: Contemporary Artists on an Ancient Tradition
Recorded February 23, 2023
Known for its distinctive clay and beautiful natural ash glazes, Shigaraki ware is one of Japan’s celebrated ceramic traditions. As one of Japan’s Six Ancient Kiln sites, Shigaraki has long produced functional vessels with a characteristic rustic appearance in warm, earthy tones. This enormously appealing tradition found a new audience with American artists and collectors in the past few decades, thereby expanding our idea of Shigaraki-yaki’s possibilities. Curator Natsu Oyobe shares this remarkable crossover story, which is the subject of her current exhibition, “Clay as Soft Power.” She is joined by artists who will offer key insights into their process of working in this fascinating medium: Shiga-based Ōtani Shirō, a leader in wood-fired ceramics and designated an Intangible Cultural Asset, and American artist Peter Callas, whose originality has pushed the field in new directions and has been twice awarded the Pollock-Krasner Fellowship. Japanese ceramic artists Hitomi and Takuro Shibata, originally from Shiga and now based in North Carolina, US, further bridge two clay cultures. Together, they provide an extraordinarily modern view of Shigaraki ware in the 21st century.
Eminent ceramics scholar Louise Cort, who wrote the book on the subject, will provide additional unique insights drawn from her long study of and experience in the field.
PANELISTS:
PETER CALLAS, artist based in New Jersey, US
HITOMI and TAKURO SHIBATA, artists based in North Carolina, US
ŌTANI SHIRŌ, artist based in Shigaraki, Japan
NATSU OYOBE, Curator of Asian Art, University of Michigan Museum of Art, MI
with LOUISE CORT, Curator Emerita of Ceramics, Freer | Sackler, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
moderated by JOAN MIRVISS
0:00 Welcome and introductory remarks - JOAN MIRVISS
3:49 'Clay as Soft Power': What role did Shigaraki ware play in the postwar era? - NATSU OYOBE
10:36 Shigaraki over the decades: a personal history - LOUISE CORT
22:51 A Shigaraki artist's residencies and experiences in the US - ŌTANI SHIRŌ
36:02 As cross-cultural ceramic artists, what does Shigaraki mean to you? - HITOMI and TAKURO SHIBATA
43:18 Facing Shigaraki tradition as an outsider - PETER CALLAS
49:34 A closer look at clay: Shigaraki clay and North Carolina wild clay - HITOMI and TAKURO SHIBATA
1:01:02 Wood-firing and anagama kilns: building kilns in the US - PETER CALLAS
1:10:35 Finding creativity within an ancient tradition - ŌTANI SHIRŌ
1:21:08 What is the future of Shigaraki ware? - NATSU OYOBE
1:26:56 List of publications, artists' contact info, gallery updates at Joan B Mirviss LTD - JOAN MIRVISS
1:30:18 BONUS Peter Callas talks about other types of kilns
Event produced and edited by Bonnie B Lee, Joan B Mirviss LTD
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