Fukami Sueharu

  • Exhibitions

  • biography

    Fukami Sueharu is perhaps the world’s leading and most internationally recognized porcelain sculptor. He is celebrated for his horizontally and vertically elongated non-functional sculptures. After being molded and cast, his sculptural pieces are finished with his signature seihakuji (pale blue) glaze, and executed in small editions.

    1947 Born in Kyoto
    1963 Graduated from the Kyoto Ceramics Training School
    1965 Graduated from the Kyoto Arts and Crafts Training Center
    1981 Taught ceramics at Alberta University, Canada
    1984 Jury of Kyoto Art Exhibition (also in ’90)
    1991 Jury for 41st Faenza International Ceramic Exhibition, Italy
    2002 Jury for 6th International Ceramic Exhibition, Mino
    2005 Jury for Concorso International Competition for Contemporary Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy

    Awards:

    1968 Commendable Award, Western Japan Art Exhibition (also Third Prize in ’71, Yomiuri Newspaper Award in ’72, and Second Prize in ’74, thereafter invitational)
    Prize, Japan Contemporary Arts and Crafts Exhibition
    1969 Prize, Kansai Art Exhibition (also in ’72)
    1974 Grand Prize, Kyoto Arts and Crafts Exhibition (also in ’78)
    1975 Commendable Award, Kyoto Arts and Crafts Exhibition (also New Artist Award in ’80)
    1976 Award, Japan Traditional Arts and Crafts Exhibition
    1977 Mayor’s Award, Kyōten Exhibition (also in '79)
    1978 Kyoto Newspaper Award, Kyōten Exhibition
    1979 Prize, 1st Japan Contemporary Arts and Crafts Exhibition
    1981 Kyoto-city New Artist Award
    1982 Grand Prize, Chūnichi International Ceramics Exhibition (also Governor’s Award in ’83, Second Prize in ’84, and Grand Prize in ‘85)
    1984 Special Award, 16th Nitten Exhibition
    1985 Grand Prize, the Faenza International Ceramic Exhibition
    Award of Excellence, Sankei Newspaper Prize, Japan New Crafts Exhibition
    for Tomorrow
    Prize, Asahi Ceramic Exhibition
    1986 Bronze Award, 1st International Ceramic Exhibition in Mino ‘86
    1987 Titograd Prize, 2nd World Triennale of Small Ceramics, Zagreb, Croatia
    1992 Grand Award, MOA Okada Mokichi Award
    Japan Ceramic Society Award
    1995 The Kyoto Art and Culture Award
    1996 38th Mainichi Art Award
    1997 Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Award
    2008 Designated as a Cultural Property of Kyoto Prefecture
    2010 Third Musée Tomo Prize, Contemporary Ceramics for the Japanese Tea Ceremony
    2011 Gold Award, Japan Ceramic Society Award

    Selected Public Collections:

    Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum
    Argentina Museum of Modern Art, Japanese House
    Ariana Museum, Geneva, Switzerland
    Art and History Museum, Geneva, Switzerland
    Art Institute of Chicago, IL
    British Museum, London, United Kingdom
    Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, NY
    Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI
    Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture, Hanford, CA
    Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, NY
    Faenza International Ceramics Museum, Faenza, Italy
    French Culture Foundation, France
    Hatjens Museum, Düsseldorf, Germany
    Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
    International Permanent Collection of Modern Art, Yugoslavia
    Japan Foundation, New York, NY
    Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
    Kyoto Prefectural Sogo-Shiryoukan
    Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
    Musée des Arts Décoratifs de la Ville de Lausanne, Switzerland
    Musée National de la Céramique, Sevres, France
    Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
    Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu
    National Museum of Art, Osaka
    National Museum of History, Taiwan
    National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
    New Castle Museum, New Castle, Australia
    New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
    North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
    Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, MI
    Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park
    Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS
    Suntory Museum
    Tokoname City Education Bureau
    Tsurui Museum of Art, Niigata
    Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
    Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

  • Fukami Sueharu 深見 陶治

    Fukami Sueharu 深見 陶治

  • bio pt 1

    bio pt 1

    Born 1947, Kyoto, Japan

    Born into the family of blue and white pottery makers in Kyoto, FUKAMI SUEHARU works with seihakuji (bluish white glaze), a technique perfected during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) in Jingdezhen. Fukami is perhaps the world’s leading and most internationally recognized porcelain sculptor. He is celebrated for his horizontally and vertically elongated non-functional sculptures. After being molded and cast, his sculptural pieces are finished with his signature seihakuji glaze. All his pieces are executed in small editions. He has spared no efforts in improving the molding process and the tools that he uses to create his signature sharp lines. His works have been included in many exhibitions throughout the world and acquired by major museums in Japan, the US, and Europe.

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