Kaneta Masanao – Untitled

Description

Born in 1953, Kaneta Masanao is one of the most recognized ceramists on the contemporary Japanese scene. An eighth-generation potter from the city of Hagi, known for its traditional skills (hagi-yaki is a form of pottery whose origins date back to the 17th century), he uses these ancestral techniques to create unique functional and non-functional contemporary ceramic forms.

He also uses the kurinuki technique of carving a form into clay instead of wheel forming, which allows him to boldly depart from ancient Hagi traditions.

His work evokes a distinct tension between function and form, technique and tradition.

He has been exhibited countless times nationally and internationally. These include the 400-year retrospective of Hagi at the Suntory Museum, a large group exhibition at the Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of Ceramic Art, and the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten exhibition.

He is also in many museum collections: the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum, the Museum of Modern Ceramics in Gifu, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Art in Philadelphia, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Presence in the permanent collections of museums

• Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, USA
• National Museum of Modern Art of Tokyo, Japan
• Brooklyn Museum, USA
• Museum of Modern Ceramics of Gifu, Japan
• Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. USA
• Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA
• Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum, Japan