Yoshikawa Masamichi

Based in Tokoname, Yoshikawa concentrates on creating seihakuji, or blue-white glazed ceramic works. While celadon porcelains are traditionally celebrated for their thin and sharp forms, Yoshikawa creates sculptural forms in porcelain after his own aesthetic: thick, bold, and covered with pooling and dripping seihakuji glaze. He also paints with sometsuke, or underglaze cobalt blue, to fashion lively calligraphic designs on the surfaces of his functional work, sometimes even them beneath the feet of his larger non-functional forms. His unique technique and reinterpretation of these classical idioms have received both national and international recognition.

1946 Born in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Japan
1968 Graduated from The Japanese Design Academy
Moved to Tokoname. Studied under Sugie Junpei
1975 Established own kiln
1984 Became a member of International Academy of Ceramics

Awards:

1971 Fine Art Award, Asahi Ceramics Competition, Tokyo
1972 Grand Prize, 3rd International Ceramics Festival, Vallauris, France
The Chōza Prize, The Chōza Ceramic Exhibition
1981 Grand Prize, Asahi Contemporary Ceramic Competition, Nagoya
1983 Grand Prize, Asahi Contemporary Craft Competition, Tokyo
1992 2nd prize, Nyon Porcelain Triennale, Nyon, Switzerland
1998 Gold Medal, Kunst-Messe München (Munich International Art and Craft Exhibition)
1999 Grand Prize, Sapporo Art Park Craft Competition, Hokkaido, Japan
2000 Grand Prize, Izushi Porcelain Triennale Competion, Hyogo, Japan
2001 Bronze Medal, World Ceramic Biennale, Korea
2002 Gold Medal, Vallauris International Biennale of Contemporary Ceramics
2003 Judge’s Prize, World Ceramic Biennale, Korea
2004 Grand Prize, 2nd Taiwan International Ceramics Biennale
2006 The Aichi Prefecture Arts and Culture Prize

Public Collections:

American Craft Museum, New York
Ariana Ceramic Art Museum, Geneva, Switzerland
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Chubu International Airport, Nagoya
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, TX
Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany
Harn Museum, University of Florida, FL
Incheon World Ceramic Center, Incheon, Korea
International Technical Research and Training Center of Toyota Monument, Toyota
Ito Memorial Museum, Izu
Japan Foundation, Tokyo
Keramik Museum Westerwalds, Germany
Kestner Museum, Hanover, Germany
Landes Holstein Museum, Germany
Los Angeles County Museum, CA
Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
Musée National de Ceramique Sèvres, France
Museum of Arts and Design, New York
Neuwe Sabulon Museum, Munich, Germany
Nyon Porcelain Museum, Switzerland
Prague Crafts Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
Porvoo City Art Museum, Finland
Sugie Duck Ltd., Tokyo Branch
Tokoname City Museum, Tokoname
Vallauris Ceramic Museum, France
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England
Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan