An exhibition of available works by the artists featured in this newly released publication
An exhibition of works selected by the artists
featured in this newly released publication
An exhibition of available works by the artists featured in this newly released publication
An exhibition of works selected by the artists
featured in this newly released publication
It is a great privilege and a special joy to applaud the publication of the impressive and illuminating book: Listening to Clay: Conversations with Contemporary Japanese Ceramic Artists authored by dear friends and great Japanese clay enthusiasts, Halsey and Alice North and the incomparable scholar, Louise Cort. And perhaps there is no better way to honor them and their two decades of diligent work, than to bring together recent clay vessels and sculptures by all sixteen men and women –– each a leader in the field and already collected by museums around the globe –– in this celebratory exhibition. We are furthermore delighted to note that many of the works were selected by the artists themselves for this singular exhibition, presented both on-line and in person at the gallery.
Most of you are already well-aware that the long history of Japanese ceramics has culminated in the current generation’s creative and diversified transformation of traditional vessels into genuine contemporary art. It is the field’s unmatched range, power, and sophistication, together with the successful integration of old and new techniques and aesthetics, that has brought this area to the collecting forefront in this country. Tradition and modernity are exquisitely balanced in the work of each of these artists.
But how did America become so involved and impassioned by this seductive art form? Like many fields of art that are first noticed, then acquired and promoted by visionary taste makers, it requires a combined effort of collectors, dealers, scholars, museum curators and of course, dedicated, and talented artists. Without a doubt, Louise Cort and Halsey and Alice North have skillfully, patiently, and persistently filled a number of these roles and been effective cheerleaders for this remarkable field.
Louise, with her scholarship and passion for the medium, has educated us through stimulating exhibitions and installations at the Freer | Sackler (now the National Museum of Asian Art) and countless insightful and highly readable publications. For me, her organization, selection, and far-sightedness in bringing the Japan Ceramics Today exhibition of the Kikuchi Tomo collection to the Smithsonian Institution was a life-changing experience. Followed by her seminal work on Sōdeisha and Isamu Noguchi, she paved the way and opened my eyes to the sculptural marvels of Post War Japanese clay art. For all these gifts and so many others, I am truly indebted.
But when she partnered as advisor, friend, and fearless collaborator with the dynamic duo of Halsey and Alice North, the world of Japanese ceramics was changed forever. Having led ceramic tours for Japan Society in the 1990s, Halsey and Alice became ardent advocates for the field. Generous, impassioned, and committed collectors, they have made their collection available to the public and financially supported important exhibitions and publications. In recent years, the Norths have donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art a large proportion of their collection. Together with their library and archives spanning decades of personal and photographic correspondence with artists and curators, their generous contributions have already proven to be a valuable resource for future scholarship. Additionally, the Norths have donated other important works from their collection to museums around the country.
Perhaps their greatest legacy over time will be this highly unusual, deeply personal, and insightful look into the thoughts, experiences, and opinions of many of the leading Japanese clay artists of the current generation of masters. With the abundant enthusiasm of these three authors, we are blessed to now offer these selected works that we hope complement this wonderful volume.
Joan Mirviss
July 2022
Now available for purchase
Listening to Clay: Conversations with Contemporary Japanese Ceramic Artists
Pioneering collectors Alice and Halsey North, together with Louise Allison Cort, Curator Emerita of Ceramics, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, over many years held intimate conversations with some of the most important living Japanese ceramic artists. Their personal stories and insights are now consolidated, edited, and published in this illustrated volume, Listening to Clay. This highly recommended book is now available through Joan B Mirviss LTD and is the inspiration for our summer gallery exhibition. Alternatively, you may purchase your copy through Amazon and the publisher Monacelli Press, a division of Phaidon. Please contact us at director@mirviss.com. Price: $65 USD includes domestic shipping.
Available Works Listed by Artist in Chronological Order
Click on large thumbnail twice to see additional views
Photo by Taya Mariko
Gallery ZOOM Talk, July 26 2022
In partnership with Asia Week New York
Listening to Clay: The Artists, Curators, and Collectors Who Listen
To celebrate the publication of Listening to Clay: Conversations with Contemporary Japanese Ceramic Artists, and the accompanying gallery exhibition at Joan B Mirviss LTD, authors Alice and Halsey North and Louise Allison Cort discuss in depth their personal relationships with these sixteen artists who formed the basis for this book. From their perspectives as collectors, they offer a behind-the-scenes look at these artists gleaned over many years and share valuable insights into the artworks by these men and women. They are joined by Metropolitan Museum of Art curator of Japanese decorative arts, Monika Bincsik, who recounts the importance of the Norths' gift to the Met Museum. In her recent reinstallation of the Great Hall Balcony, she re-contextualizes the work of these artists in conversation with their Western counterparts.
PANELISTS:
MONIKA BINCSIK, Diane and Arthur Abbey Associate Curator for Japanese Decorative Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art
LOUISE CORT, Curator Emerita at the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution
ALICE AND HALSEY NORTH, Japanese clay art collectors and museum patrons
Moderated by JOAN MIRVISS
The full recording of this event is now available on our website
Listening to Clay
An exhibition of works selected by the artists featured in this new publication
July 20 – August 26, 2022
All sixteen artists showcased in Listening to Clay: Conversations with Contemporary Japanese Ceramic Artists (Monacelli Press/release date: June 14, 2022) are participating in our next exhibition in honor of this book's publication. Works that best embody the inspirations, challenges, and achievements of their distinguished careers have been selected for this special exhibition.
Most of the artists have been long represented by Joan B Mirviss LTD, who has witnessed their impressive artistic development over the decades. Accompanied by the rich personal stories found within the book, the clay works on offer in the exhibition Listening to Clay represent these artists' innovative brilliance and encapsulate the diversity of ceramics in Japan today.
Across many journeys to Japan, and multiple intimate conversations with each master artist, Alice and Halsey North, pioneering collectors and museum patrons, together with Louise Allison Cort, Curator Emerita of Ceramics, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC), have compiled these discussions and added their valuable insights into a beautifully illustrated collector's volume, only now available. It uniquely brings together the very personal stories of these artists whose work range across a variety of traditions, styles, and techniques that characterize Japan's exciting modern clay landscape. Conversations with artists who were born into legacy pottery-making families steeped in tradition are presented alongside those with the first women to study clay in newly-established university degree programs. The gallery exhibition Listening to Clay likewise showcases this trailblazing array of talent.
The gallery exhibition runs from July 20 to August 26, 2022. It will feature works by all sixteen artists in the book, Listening to Clay (listed in chronological order):
Hayashi Yasuo (b. 1928),
Mishima Kimiyo (b. 1932),
Morino Hiroaki Taimei (b. 1934),
Kohyama Yasuhisa (b. 1936),
Miyashita Zenji (1939-2012),
Miwa Ryūkishō (Kyūsetsu XII/ Ryōsaku) (b. 1940),
Koike Shōko (b. 1943),
Ogawa Machiko (b. 1946),
Fukami Sueharu (b. 1947),
Kakurezaki Ryūichi (b. 1950),
Miwa Kyūsetsu XIII (Kazuhiko) (b. 1951),
Akiyama Yō (b. 1953),
Kaneta Masanao (b. 1953),
Yagi Akira (b. 1955),
Kitamura Junko (b. 1956),
and Kondō Takahiro (b. 1958).
With more than forty-five years of experience, Joan B. Mirviss is a pillar in the field of Japanese art. As a dealer, scholar, curator, and advisor, she has been the driving force championing the top Japanese clay artists, who she represents exclusively, and whose works she has placed in major museums around the globe. Widely published as a highly respected expert, Mirviss has built many institutional and private collections of Japanese art. JOAN B MIRVISS LTD exhibits modern and contemporary Japanese ceramics, ukiyo-e, and Japanese paintings from its exclusive Madison Avenue location in New York City.
For more information, please contact us at 212-799-4021 or director@mirviss.com.
MISHIMA KIMIYO (b. 1932), Sculpture of a red Coca-Cola cardboard box filled with six, independent (wrapped) coke bottles, 2022, Glazed stoneware, 9 1/4 x 10 5/8 x 8 1/4 in.