Matsui Kōsei

Exhibitions
biography

Designated as a Living National Treasure in 1993, Matsui Kōsei was hugely influential in the revival of neriage (marbleized, colored-clay ware that he perfected, studying numerous examples of ancient Chinese ceramics as a priest at Gessō-ji Temple in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture. Matsui far surpassed these historic predecessors by creating abstract and geometric surface patterning by applying to the surface or throwing numerous layered colored clays, often with a rough-hewn texture. His research and intense studies in this difficult technique, culminated in worldwide recognition for his tradition-steeped vessels.

1927 Born in Nagano Prefecture
1952 Graduated from Department of Literature, Meiji University
1957 Became the 24th head priest of Gessō-ji Temple, Kasama, Ibaragi Prefecture
1960 Built a kiln at Gessō-ji Temple
Studied ancient Chinese, Korean, and Japanese pottery and made facsimiles of such items; researched neriage technique and made test works
1967 Studied under Tamura Kōichi (1918-1987), later Living National Treasure
1971 Became a member of Nihon kōgeikai (Japan Crafts Association)
1988 Appointed a director of Japan Crafts Association
1993 Designated Living National Treasure
2003 Deceased
Awards:

1970 Awarded the Japan Crafts Association Prize at Dentō kōgei shinsakuten (Traditional Crafts Recent Works Exhibition)
1971 Awarded the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education Prize, Dentō kōgei shinsakuten
Awarded the Japan Crafts Association Director’s Prize, Nihon dentō kōgeiten (Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition)
1973 Awarded the Prince Chichibu Trophy, Nihon tōgeiten Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition, sponsored by Mainichi Newspaper
1974 Awarded the Japan Ceramic Society Award
1975 Awarded the NHK Chairman’s Prize, Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition
1986 Awarded the Fujiwara Memorial Prize, Fujiwara Kei Memorial Foundation
1988 Awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon, from government for artistic achievement
1990 Awarded the Japan Ceramic Society Gold Prize
Awarded the Okada Mokichi Memorial Prize, MOA Museum
1992 Awarded the Ibaraki Prize, from the Ibaraki prefectural government
1993 Designated Living National Treasure
2000 Awarded the Kyokujitsu Shōjushō (The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette)

Selected Public Collections:

Art Institute of Chicago
Brooklyn Museum
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Chinese Embassy
Foreign Ministry of Japan
Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum
Hokkaidō Prefectural Museum of Modern Art
Ibaraki Prefectural Art Museum
Indiana University Art Museum
Japan Foundation
Kure City Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Seto City Museum
Shiseidō Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Yale University Art Gallery
Matsui Kōsei
bio pt 1

(1927-2003)

Although a student of the glazing expert Tamura Kōichi, Matsui Kōsei was captivated by the unglazed marbleized colored-clay techniques and became the seminal figure in its revival. As a priest at the Gessō-ji Temple in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, Matsui studied numerous examples of ancient Chinese ceramics, allowing him to perfect his neriage. Far surpassing these historic precedents, Matsui created original abstract and geometric surface patterns, often with a rough-hewn texture, using a variety of methods. His research and intense studies in this difficult process culminated in worldwide recognition for his tradition-steeped vessels, so much so that he was designated a Living National Treasure in 1993.

Two of his techniques were born of the same concept and, so it happens, both called “Shōretsu” but written with different Chinese characters. The first shōretsu (嘯裂) refers to rubbing the surface of the clay body with a wire brush or comb, while the second shōretsu (象裂) refers to the process of stacking two to three layers of clay around a tube on a potter’s wheel, combing the surface of the clay body, and turning the wheel, resulting in fissures on the surface. The innermost layer of clay is more flexible than the exterior layer, thus, when thrown, the fissures only appear on the outside surface of the vessel.
video
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bio pt 2

Selected Public Collections:

Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Brooklyn Museum, NY
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Chinese Embassy, Tokyo, Japan
Foreign Ministry of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Ithaca, NY
Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, Japan
Hokkaidō Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan
Ibaraki Prefectural Art Museum, Japan
Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Japan
Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN
Japan Foundation, New York, NY
Kure Municipal Museum of Art, Japan
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Portland Art Museum, OR
Saint Louis Art Museum, MO
Seto City Museum, Japan
Shiseidō Museum, Kakegawa, Japan
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
University of Michigan Art Library, Ann Arbor, MI
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT