Tsuboi Asuka

TSUBOI ASUKA (1932-2022)

Tsuboi Asuka was one of the most influential female artists in Japanese contemporary ceramics. After graduating from high school, Tsuboi apprenticed under master Tomimoto Kenikichi and with his encouragement, she became an independent artist. In 1957, she co-founded Joryū tōgei, or Women’s Association of Ceramic Arts, a first of its kind in the tradition-bound and male-dominated Kyoto arts scene. The groundbreaking group opened doors for women clay artists and created exhibitions that offered their work to the public. To this day, this pioneering group has continuously supported women’s cutting-edge clay art. Creatively, Tsuboi drew inspiration from both traditional textiles found in her adopted home of Kyoto and the beauty she found in nature. Her aesthetic utilizes richly colored glazes to create imaginative patterning that balances tradition and the avant-garde.

Selected Public Collections:

Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Aichi, Japan
Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland
Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris, France
Chusin Art Museum, Kyoto, Japan
Crow Museum of Asian Art, University of Texas, Dallas, TX
Fukui Fine Arts Museum, Fukui, Japan
Hamilton Art Gallery, Victoria, Australia
Hampshire College Art Gallery, MA
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA
Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemét, Hungary
Istituto Giapponese di Cultura, Rome, Italy
Japan Foundation, Tokyo, Japan
Kyoto Prefectural Library and Archives, Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan
Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy

Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo, Japan
Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama, Japan
Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Paramita Museum, Komono, Mie, Japan
Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park and Museum, Shiga, Japan
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Suntory Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
Tokoname City Board of Education, Japan
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT