Miyashita Zenji

Miyashita Zenji was born in Kyoto to the eldest son of the distinguished porcelain artist, Miyashita Zenju (1901-1968). He was trained academically by the ceramic-sculptor Kiyomizu Kyūbei at Kyoto Municipal University of Art and Music. Soon thereafter his career took off after affiliating with the Nitten Group and exhibiting in their annual competitions, which he won 18 times. He subsequently won numerous prizes, his successes establishing him as a major talent. His works have been included in many exhibitions throughout the world and his work has been acquired by major museums in Japan, the US and Europe. Using a saidei (colored clay) technique, Miyashita applied these extremely thin layers of clay in irregular bands to cover the surface of each vessel. Ranging in gradient tones from deep purple to faint pink or from dark blue to the palest green, these layers transform into distant hills, drifting clouds or rolling waves.

1939 Born in Kyoto; eldest son of Miyashita Zenju (1901-1968)
1966 Graduated from the Kyoto Municipal University of Arts and Music, Kyoto
1966-85 Lecturer, Kyoto Municipal University of Arts and Music, Kyoto
1969 Studied under Kusube Yaichi (central figure in the Nitten)
Became Member of The Japan Art Association
1974 Judge, The Kyoto Arts and Crafts Exhibition
1976 Traveled to the Middle East through Kyoto Arts and Crafts Exhibition Award
1978 Co-founded the Japan New Craftsman Federation
1979 Became Member of Iinternational Academy of Ceramics
1983 Judge, The Japan New Ceramic Exhibition
1991 Judge, The first Nikkōkai Exhibition
1993 Judge, Nitten Exhibition
1994 Judge, The International Ceramic Exhibition, Pusan, Korea
1994-96 Lecturer, Kyoto National University of Education, Kyoto
1998- Lecturer, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Kyoto

Awards:

1964 First entry to Nitten Exhibition (thereafter 18 times)
1967 Encouragement Award, Kyoto Arts and Crafts Exhibition (thereafter, won the Award of Excellence three times)
The Third Award, Kansai Art Exhibition (thereafter, won the First Award three times)
1972 Kyoto Mayor’s Award
1975 Member’s Award and Foreign Minister’s Award, The Japan Contemporary Arts and Crafts Exhibition
1977 New Talent Award for Arts by Kyoto Prefecture
1979 First Prize, Nitten Exhibition (also in ‘87)
1985 Award, Asahi Ceramic Exhibition
Award, Chunichi International Ceramic Exhibition
1986 Member’s Award, and Yagi Kazuo Award, Japan New Craft Exhibition
1991 Kusube Award, Kyoten Exhibition
1995 Prime Minister’s Prize, Nikkōkai Exhibition
2005 Lifetime Achievement Award and Cultural Award by Kyoto Prefecture
Lifetime Achievement Award for the Arts by Kyoto City
2007 Ministry of Education Award, Nitten Exhibition

Select Public Collections:

Aichi Prefectural Museum, Aichi
Arthur M. Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art: the National Museums of Asian Art at the Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C.
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
British Museum, London, United Kingdom
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN
Japan Foundation, New York, NY
Kyoto Prefectural Library and Archives, Kyoto
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Musée des Arts Décoratif, Paris, France
Musée National de Cèramique, Sèvres, France
Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka
Museum of Modern Art, Shiga
Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama
Musée Cernuschi, Paris, France
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada
Saint Louis Museum of Art, St. Louis, MO
Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shiga
Spencer Art Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Stiftung Keramion, Frechen, Germany
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA