Katsumata Chieko

After attending Nihon Women's University, Katsumata Chieko received a grant from the French government to study industrial design in Paris; but after a chance meeting with the well-known American potter Fance Franc (1931-2008) was inspired to pursue a career in ceramics. Upon returning to Kyoto, she began to focus on the application of color to clay under the mentorship of Yanagihara Mutsuo. Instead of painting directly on her biomorphic, vegetal vessels, she covers the form with a thin piece of cloth through which she repeatedly applies color, leaving no trace of her brushwork. After repeated firings, followed by new applications of color, the surfaces take on a penetrating vivid color and soft textural appearance. She has exhibited extensively both in and outside of Japan, including France, Holland and the U.S.

1950 Born in Shizuoka
1972 B.A. in Home Economics, Nihon Women's University, Tokyo
1973-77 Atelier Francine Del Pierre, Paris, apprenticed to Mme. Fance Frank
1974-77 L’Ecole National Supérrieurre des Arts Appliqués et Mètiers d'Art, Ceramics
1978 Built studio in Kyoto
1997 Lectured at the National School of Decorative Art in Switzerland
2000 Lectured at Kyoto University of Arts and Design, Kyoto
2004 Lectured at Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto
2010 Lectured at Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
2011 International Ceramic Art Festival in Sasama, Shizuoka
2012 Lectured at Maui Art and Cultural Center, Maui, HI
2013 Werkschule-Werkstatt fur Kunst und Kulturalbeil e.v. Germany

Selected Public Collections:

Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Ishikawa Prefectural Kutani Research Institute, Ishikawa
Japan Foundation, Tokyo
Latvijas National Makslas Mujejs, Riga, Latvia
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Musée Cernuschi, Paris, France
Musée national de céramique, Sèvres, France
Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shiga
Smith College, Northampton, MA
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA
World Ceramic Exposition Foundation, Korea
Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL