MIWA KYUSETSU XIII

For the inaugural exhibition, we are pleased to present El Capitan, a solo exhibition by Miwa Kyusetsu XIII.

Miwa Kyusetsu XIII, who assumed the family title in 2019, is highly acclaimed throughout the world for his style that incorporates dynamic and innovative sculptural forms while carrying forward the legacy of Hagi ware ceramics by using the white Hagi glaze adopted by the Miwa family. His “El Capitan” series of tea bowls highlights the contrast between the unglazed surface of the pottery cut out using a Japanese sword and the Miwa family’s traditional white Hagi glaze (Kyusetsu white). This series owes its primary inspiration to Miwa’s astonishment at seeing the enormous granite edifice of the same name at Yosemite National Park while studying in the United States. This series constitutes the merger of that inspiration with Hagi clay and ceramic traditions. The works have an enchantingly powerful originality and convey the energy of nature and the long history of kogei crafts.

Miwa Kyusetsu XIII has provided the following statement for this solo exhibition.

I would like to congratulate the Toda Corporation on the completion of the Toda Building.

I would also like to extend my congratulations to KOSAKU KANECHIKA on the opening of its new space in the Toda Building.

Having long grappled with the possibilities of clay while keeping in mind the gravity of what it means to fire a piece of the earth, I have become particularly conscious of the meaning and significance involved in appreciating a bowl of tea since I’ve started creating tea bowls in recent years.

Created by firing pieces of the earth, the “El Capitan” series of works on view in the exhibition comprises unique tea bowls, shaped by hollowing out chunks of clay. Miwa has said that the process of transforming the clay—a piece of the natural world that brims with life—and making it come together as a single vessel is not at all something that goes according to plan. Miwa’s work is a result of repeated confrontation, questioning, and exchanges of actions and reactions with nature, which is both an absolute power and a menace. In his practice, we discover the fundamental essence of what it means for humanity to create. In this exhibition, Miwa presents about ten new works, large pieces from the “El Capitan” series. We cordially invite you to attend “El Capitan” at KOSAKU KANECHIKA’s new space.