Shozo Michikawa

SHOZO MICHIKAWA THE FORBIDDEN CITY

SHOZO MICHIKAWA THE FORBIDDEN CITY

28 October - 26 November 2015

In 2005 I was the first foreign ceramic artist to be honoured with an exhibition at the Taimiao in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China. More than 20,000 people attended.

The influence of Chinese techniques and culture, in relation to ceramics, was felt in Japan 1,300 years ago.

For me the Forbidden City exhibition was a return of that tradition to its source.

I am delighted that the works from the Forbidden City exhibition will now go on display in London, allowing people to look again at the mixing of Chinese and Japanese culture.

Shozo Michikawa, 2015

15 Royal Arcade 28 Old Bond Street London, W1S 4SP +44 (0) 20 7491 1706 mail@erskinehallcoe.com www.erskinehallcoe.com

Fan pu gui zhen

(Returning to nature’s simplicity and truth)

by Shozo Michikawa

When looking at fine ceramics, one can enjoy these works from a number of different perspectives, including the beauty of their form, the texture, the quality of the glaze, balance, color, and refined grace. When you look at my pottery, however, I hope that you will enjoy the internal aspects as well as these external elements.

Many of my works incorporate “twists” both vertical and horizontal. These “twists” are an essential element of my works.

What do I mean by this “twist”? Imagine, if you will, a professional golfer, who twists his body at the moment of impact in order to make the ball fly farther. In the same way, by adding a twisting motion, my ceramic works become more energetic.

“Ceramics” in Japanese is “Yakimono” which refers to the final process of baking in an oven. In the oven, the temperature eventually reaches 1200 to 1300°C, which causes the ceramic pieces to change from red to white.

This is very similar to the image of molten lava flowing from an erupting volcano. The inside of an oven could in a sense be seen as a small natural world, and so natural energy could be seen as being stored within these ceramics.

Last summer, I was interviewed for a magazine when my works were on display at a gallery in London. The interviewer said, “Your works are very energetic, as though bursting with lava from a volcano.” I immediately replied, “The place where I grew up is at the foot of the Mt. Usu volcano, Hokkaido, which is still active to this day.” Perhaps the mental images from my youth are still reflected in my works.

The energy of nature is truly immense. No matter how much our sciences and civilization might evolve, the power of human beings is inconsequential in the face of natural threats such as typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, and erupting volcanoes. I think this is why the works created by the natural world, for example, the patterns formed by the winds on the desert sands, or a majestic cliff overlooking the ocean, contain a power that can never be imitated by human hands. My own creative activities have been inspired by various phenomena in the natural world; even those that can be seen in everyday life.

Recently, I have gathered many hints from dayto-day happenings, just by changing the way I look at things: when I eat a mango, or pick up a pine cone while taking my dog for a walk in the woods, or walk through a bamboo forest.

It is my hope that when I gain something from nature, people will be able to feel and enjoy that as well, when they feel the energy in my works.

I am sure most Japanese are aware that Chinese ceramics, now referred to as “China” in English—were brought to Japan some 1300 years ago, and that this Chinese art form, which was concentrated mainly in the Seto region became the basis for the development of Japanese ceramics.

These arts have been passed on through many people, and over many long years, and now, through me, have come back to China. It is a great honor and a great pleasure to see this exhibition of my works in China take up a place in the pages of the history of ceramics.

Original essay from the 2005 catalogue of Shozo Michikawa’s ‘Forbidden City’ exhibition

Kohiki Square Vase 26 x 8.5 cm (SHM-0184)

Natural Ash Square Vase 32.5 x 25 cm (SHM-0154)

Kohiki Vase 48 x 15.5 cm (SHM-0150)

Benikohiki Tea Bowl 9 x 12.5 cm (SHM-0159)

Benikohiki Tea Bowl 7.5 x 11 cm (SHM-0160)

Benikohiki Mizusashi 11 x 32 x 16.5 cm (SHM-0192)

Kohiki Vase 54 x 14.5 cm (SHM-0143)

Kohiki Vase 37 x 15 cm (SHM-0202)

Natural Ash Vase 25.5 x 10.2 cm (SHM-0151)

Natural Ash Vase 45 x 13 cm (SHM-0198)

Natural Ash Square Mizusashi 13.5 x 15 cm (SHM-0145)

Natural Ash Vase 21 x 18.5 cm (SHM-0199)

Kohiki Bowl 15 x 30 cm (SHM-0203)

Natural Ash Bowl 15.5 x 33 cm (SHM-0201)

Kohiki Vase 19 x 15.5 cm (SHM-0144)

Natural Ash Vase 24 x 28 cm (SHM-0166)

Kohiki Vase 44.5 x 8.5 cm (SHM-0146)

Kohiki Natural Ash Vase 31 x 9.5 cm (SHM-0180)

Natural Ash Vase 21 x 14 cm (SHM-0156)

Natural Ash Triangular Vase 29 x 16 cm (SHM-0157)

Silver Bowl with Iron Matt Glaze 13.5 x 30.5 x 22 cm (SHM-0206)

Tanka Vase with Raku Lid 35 x 15 cm (SHM-0171)

Natural Ash Square Vase 41 x 11 cm (SHM-0161)

Natural Ash Vase 28.5 x 21.5 cm (SHM-0169)

Tanka Vase 19.5 x 13 cm (SHM-0153)

Tanka Square Vase 22 x 18.5 cm (SHM-0186)

Kohiki Bowl 16.5 x 38.5 x 34.5 cm (SHM-0168)

Kohiki Vase 19 x 18 x 10 cm (SHM-0214)

Kohiki Square Vase 38 x 13 cm (SHM-0182)

Kohiki Mizusashi 12 x 32 x 14.5 cm (SHM-0204)

Tanka Vase 29 x 16.2 cm (SHM-0179)

Natural Ash Jar 28 x 22 cm (SHM-0212)

Kohiki Incense Burner 14.1 x 10.5 x 8.5 cm (SHM-0162)

Tanka Incense Burner 12.5 x 7.5 cm (SHM-0164)

Kohiki Triangular Vase with Raku Lid 14 x 19.5 cm (SHM-0177)

Kohiki Triangular Vase 17 x 15 cm (SHM-0173)

Ash Glaze Mizusashi 14 x 17 cm (SHM-0200)

Biography

Shozo Michikawa was born in Hokkaido, the most northern area of Japan. He studied at Aoyama Gakuin University, from where he graduated in 1975. He initially had a career in business, but took up evening classes in art where he discovered his talent and passion for pottery. A few years later, Michikawa made the decision to give up his life in business and to focus on creating ceramics.

In July 2005, he was given the rare honour of being the first Japanese artist to have a solo exhibition of his art in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Michikawa has widely exhibited in Japan and around the world, including the Philippines, Mongolia, France, China, New York and London.

Kohiki Vase with Handle 66 x 30 x 12 cm (SHM-0208)

Public Collections

Solo Exhibitions

China-Japan Exchange Center, Beijing, China Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, USA Modern Glass & Ceramic Museum, Coburg, Germany Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, Wales Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, USA Qinglingsi Temple, Xi’an, China Shimada City Museum, Japan University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales

2014

2013

2012

2011

2009

2008

2007

2006 2005

2004 2003

2001

2000

1997

1996 1995

All works were produced in 2005 and are made of stoneware.

The exhibition is illustrated online at www.erskinehallcoe.com/exhibitions/shozo-michikawa-2015/ Design by fivefourandahalf Printed by Witherbys Lithoflow Printing Photography by Michael Harvey

Galerie Friedrich Müller, Frankfurt, Germany Hélène Aziza, Paris, France Gallery Hu, Nagoya, Japan Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK Peter Kummermann, Geneva, Switzerland Nihonbashi Mitukoshi Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Galerie Hélène Porée, Paris, France Materia, Quebec, Canada Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium The Nature of Clay, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, USA Terre Rossa, Leipzig, Germany Gallery Hu, Nagoya, Japan Nature into Art, Galerie Besson, London, UK Art Gallery Oyama, Osaka, Japan Gallery Hu, Nagoya, Japan Clara Scremini Gallery, Paris, France Thirty Years, Thirty Pots, Galerie Besson, London, UK Izukan Gallery, Manila, Philippines Tokyo Eizo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium Blue Spiral Gallery, Asheville, USA Shandong Museum, Shandong, China Forbidden City, Beijing, China Izukan Gallery, Manila, Philippines Wa-noi, Shizuoka, Japan Galerie Besson, London, UK Tobu Department Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Matsuzakaya Department Store Gallery, Shizuoka, Japan Izukan Gallery, Manila, Philippines Tobu Department Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Art Gallery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Mitsukoshi Department Store Gallery, Kurashiki, Japan Tobu Department Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Tobu Department Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Hiraya Gallery, Manila, Philippines Hiraya Gallery, Manila, Philippines Hankyu Department Store Gallery, Osaka, Japan