Shozo Michikawa
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Torsion and tension are characteristic of the vessels created by the exceptional Japanese ceramicist Shozo Michikawa (b.
1953), whose works are reminiscent of rock strata and lava flows. Michikawa is known for his unique technique, for turning edgy, dynamic sculptures on the potter's wheel. First he cuts and scores a solid block of clay before he carves out the interior hollow through pressing and turning with a rod and his hands. Natural-looking surfaces emerge, just as geological forces formed the earth's surface - an irrepressible energy from the inside out. Michikawa's pots, with their irregular shape, granular texture, and rich earthen hues are so poetic in their appearance that they have been likened to 'haikus in clay'. With a selection of works from the last fifteen years, Shozo Michikawa introduces the first comprehensive insight into his ceramic production, which has attracted attention across the globe. The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg; LACMA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford; National Museum of
Wales, Cardiff; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Qinglingsi Temple, Xi'an and Shimada City Museum are among the institutions
that have acquired his work. This book accompanies an exhibition, which will tour between venues: Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA (US), 3 to 24.6.2017; Erskine, Hall & Coe, London (UK), 11.10. to 2.11.2017. The artist is active on facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/shozo.michikawa
Clare Pollard is curator of Japanese art at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (UK). Her main area of research is the decorative arts of the Meiji era, in particular the work of the potter Miyagawa Kozan. Nora von Achenbach works as an academic associate and curator for various exhibition projects on Chinese and Japanese arts. Since 2000 she has headed the East Asian and Islamic Department at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (DE).