Hand and Eye: Contemporary Reflections of East Asian Ceramic Traditions


East Asia Library – Stanford University

The materials, methods and aesthetics of East Asian ceramics have evolved in diverse ways over thousands of years. This exhibition commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Center for East Asian Studies by bringing together contemporary works from leading Japanese and North American ceramists that highlight the vital legacy of inherited styles and techniques. These are displayed together with ceramics made by members of the campus community, as well as images that highlight Stanford connections with international centers of traditional ceramics practice at Utah State University and in Shigaraki, Japan. Selected books and museum catalogs have been set out as part of the exhibit to provide historical perspective on the origins of this vibrant art form.

Exhibit poster: PDF

Exhibit pamphlet/guide: PDF

Exhibit legends (in numerical label order, as posted by the display cases): PDF

Many of the pieces on display are available for purchase. Please direct inquiries to Hideo Mabuchi.

Interested in ceramics research at Stanford? Please visit our satellite exhibits on the art and science of iron-bearing surfaces, now on view in the Stanford Archaeology Center and in the SNSF hallway between Huang and Spilker.



Artists Represented

Color code: Japanese artists / North American artists / Stanford ceramics community
 
click ► to show bio (most browsers); * designates artists who have loaned work for the exhibition


 

*Bass, Kevin ’17, MS ’18 (18)

I have always been enthralled with the variety and depth of ceramics as an art form. I feel like I have just scratched the surface to the world of pottery and always discover new styles to practice. Ever since freshman year of high school, I fell in love with the potter’s wheel. I spent hundreds of hours crafting elegant shapes, paying attention to details that no one else would notice. It was gratifying to use my hands and tools to turn clay into something greater.

I am most attracted to Korean pottery since their culture has mastered the craft over thousands of years. They use celadon glaze to perfection and is something I hope to attain over the course of my life. My friend recently traveled to Japan and showed me work done by Ken Matsuzaki. I was immediately drawn to his bottle forms, inspiring me to make this piece.

*Bhat, Ashwini (13) @ashwinibhat [website] Ashwini’s sculpture is titled “The Realm of the Hungry Ghosts”

Boyden, Frank (37) [website]

*Dupont, Robin (29) @robindupontceramics [website]

*D’Urso, Victoria (10)

I have been making ceramics for over 20 years. It all started with a class I took as an undergraduate. Ceramics found me and took a permanent hold of my creative force. I learned wherever I could, in student clubs and community centers and eventually taught pottery classes along with working on my career as an Economist. While teaching at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, I enrolled in their arts program and studied Studio Arts with Concentration in Ceramics. Working in the studio there taught me much about being an artist and about myself. My passion for the medium is more than artistic expression. At Stanford, I find the Student Ceramics Club to be a place to teach and work in so I can share my knowledge and love of ceramics.

Fujioka Shuhei / 藤岡周平 (39)

*Golley, Trudy (11) [website]

*Grabiec, Nicolette ’19 (22) @nicolette_gabriella [website]

Nicolette Grabiec is a product design and mechanical engineering student at Stanford University. Inspired by the sewing, crocheting, and embroidery she did with her mother while growing up, Nicolette’s current ceramic work explores the similarities between clay and textiles. Through manipulation during the hand building or wheel throwing process and/or the incorporation of other materials post-firing, Nicolette reminisces upon the forms and textures often encountered when working with textiles.

*Hayes, Todd (35) @toddhayesceramics [website]

Hori Ichiro / 堀一郎 (34)

Ikeda Shogo / 池田省吾 (42)

Illian, Clary (9) [Craft in America entry]

Isezaki Koichiro / 伊勢崎晃一朗 (31)

*Jackson, Sally (19) @sallygjackson [website]

The shapes, patterns, and motifs of my work often come from the natural world. However, I want my pieces to define that place where the careful geometries of our human landscape meet and are affected by natural forces. I work mainly with stoneware, but I also use earthenware clays that I find locally. I love how the process of digging, refining, and brushing on these clays links my hands to the ground underneath us and to countless other potters who’ve come before. When I’m not in my studio, I’m often helping with the ceramics program at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, or birding and leading hikes at Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.

Kakurezaki Ryuichi / 隠崎隆一 (23)

Karnes, Karen (45) [Wikipedia entry]

Kato Tsubusa / 加藤委 (8)

*Kim, William ’16 (44) @willikiln

Kumano Kuroemon / 熊野九郎右ヱ門 (41)

*Logan, Sarah (20) @sarahloganceramics [website]

*Mabuchi, Hideo / 馬渕英雄 (17) @firemousehm [website]

Hideo Mabuchi teaches and conducts research as a Professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University. His ceramic work focuses on wood fired sculptural vessels, mainly thrown and altered. Recently he has been working to develop new educational approaches that integrate ceramics with scientific and humanistic studies to bring craft back into the core of undergraduate education.

*McCarty, Ryan PhD ’17 (40)

As an aspiring craft artist, Ryan McCarty was drawn to the Japanese culture’s appreciation of crafts as art, and in turn discovered Kirei-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic focused on “elegant simplicity”, which became a core component of his pottery, blacksmithing, and woodworking pieces. Ironically, Ryan’s fascination with ceramics and glazes drove him deep into the chemistry of ceramics, which eventually resulted in pursuing research at Stanford. While at Stanford, Ryan shared his love for the craft and chemistry of ceramics as an instructor and co-president of the Stanford ceramics club.

Mihara Ken / 三原研 (38)

*Murphy, Dan (27) @danmurphy5050 [USU faculty page]

Tsukigata Nahiko / 月形那比古 (28)

*Nakazato Takashi / 中里隆 (26) @takashi_nakazato_potter

*Neely, John (24) @neelyjc [USU faculty page]

Ogiri Tai / 大桐大 (25)

*Parady, Scott (2)

*Peters, David (5) @davidpetersceramics [website]

*Piercy, Mark (16) [website]

Mark was introduced to ceramics in high school where he was exposed to the work of Shoji Hamada and Peter Voulkos. He has been working with clay for more than 20 years. Mark has been at Stanford working in research and software development for over 15 years. He has worked at The Genome Technology Center the Genetics Department, on the Folding@home project and currently works at the Stanford Research Computing Center. Mark teaches at the Ceramics Studio Stanford.

Reitz, Don (30) [website]

*Schwartz, Nick (1) @nickschwartzceramics

Shinohara Nozomu / 篠原希 (12)

Suzuki Goro / 鈴木五郎 (36)

Suzuki Sansei / 鈴木三成 (7)

Takesue Hiomi / 武末日臣 (43)

Tanaka Sajiro / 田中佐次郎 (3)

*Troy, Jack (32) [website]

Tsujimura Shiro / 辻村史朗 (33)

*Vue, Pajnucci ’17 (21) @pajnucci [website]

Yokoyama Naoki / 横山直樹 (14)

*Wilson, Tara (4) @teadubpotter [website]