The Expanding Concept of Ceramics - Aesthetic Sense in Contemporary Ceramics
The exhibition “Encouragement of Japanese Contemporary Ceramics: Kikuchi Collection” will be held at the Kikuchi Kanjitsu Memorial Tomo Museum from January 18 to May 6, 2025. The exhibition will consist mainly of Japanese ceramic works from the latter half of the 20th century onward, collected by Tomo Kikuchi (1923-2016), the founder of the Kikuchi Kanjitsu Memorial Tomo Museum. In 1983, Kikuchi's collection was presented in an exhibition titled “Japanese Ceramics Today” at the Thomas M. Evans Gallery of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., U.S.A., which was well received as an exhibition of contemporary Japanese culture at a time when trade friction between Japan and the United States was an issue.
The field of contemporary ceramics have continued to expand from conventional ceramics, which are designed to be used as utensils, such as daily-use ceramics and tea ceremony utensils, to contemporary ceramics, which are viewed as three-dimensional forms rather than as utensils or functions, and there are objet-like forms that capture materials, techniques, traditions, and other elements related to ceramics from unique perspectives. The range of works varies from artist to artist, and Kikuchi has continued to collect them, fascinated by their thoughts and aesthetics. In this exhibition, works from the 1970s and 1980s from her collection will be exhibited, including those that were shown in an exhibition in the U.S. in 1983.
Featured Works

KAMODA Shoji,《Painted Jar》1972, h15.0×w25.0×d15.0cm, Kikuchi Kanjitsu Memorial Tomo Museum (Photographer: MINAMOTO Tadayuki)

KAWAMOTO Goro,《Bottle with Overglaze-Enameled Whirlpool Design》1982, h34.2×w22.0× d19.5cm, Kikuchi Collection (Photographer: MINAMOTO Tadayuki)

WADA Morihiro,《Stoneware Vessel with Japanese-Cedar Motif》1981, h43.5×w23.0×d17.4cm, Kikuchi Collection (Photographer: ABE Sayuri)

YAGI Kazuo,《Black Flower》1964, h15.5×w20.0×d17.0cm, Kikuchi Kanjitsu Memorial Tomo Museum (Photographer: TANAKA Gakuji)
Encouragement of Japanese Contemporary Ceramics: Kikuchi Collection
Dates | January 18th to May 6th, 2025 |
Time | 11:00~18:00 (Last Admission at 17:30) |
Venue | Kikuchi Kanjitsu Memorial Tomo Museum |
Closed | on Mondays (Except on February 24th, May 5th) and February 25th |
Fee | Regular Admission 1,100yen/University Student 800yen/Elementary through High School Student 500yen |
URL | https://tinyurl.com/3jzc92c3 |