Sakai Hiroshi has pursued his own artistic expressions in Shino wares by integrating traditional and innovative techniques with his aesthetic tastes. Since completing courses at the Tajimi City Ceramic Design Research Center in Gifu, he continued his studies with Kato Kozo (b. 1935), named a Living National Treasure. While Sakai’s use of kairagi, the sharply textured hallmark glaze of Shino wares, pays homage to his respected master, he developed his own distinct coloring using blue zaffer, perfecting the “indigo Shino” glaze. The combination of exquisitely rendered shades of indigo with the crackled kairagi surfaces on his boldly designed vessels are highly regarded both in and outside of Japan.
Selected Exhibitions
- 2013–2016 Asia Week, New York, US
- 2014 Japan from Prehistory to the Present, British Museum | London, UK
- Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Embassy of Japan | Washington D.C., US
- 2013 Contemporary Kōgei Styles in Japan, Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens | Delray Beach, Florida, US
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Selected Public Collections
British Museum | London, UK
Auckland Museum | New Zealand
National Museum of Modern Art | Tokyo, Japan