Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd, will present a major solo show of internationally acclaimed artist Akiyama Yo (b 1953) who lives, works and teaches in Kyoto, Japan. This exhibition, on view April 18-May 20, will be Japan's highly acclaimed artist's second in the United States.
"Tension and Transition" includes more than ten sculptural clay works created for this presentation. Though using a basic stoneware clay, Akiyama's aesthetic pushes past any traditional concepts for ceramics; his art has much more in common with the work of contemporary sculptors like Richard Serra than the utilitarian ceramics for which Kyoto is historically known.
Inspired by his teacher Yagi Kazuo (1919-1979), cofounder of the Sodeisha ceramic movement and best known for pioneering the avant-garde aesthetic in postwar Japan, Akiyama's major concerns revolve around the physical properties of clay as a material. His exploration focuses on the tension between surface and form, between the ordered and the organic.
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