Shion Tabata
The work of Shion Tabata: calligraphy, painting, and ceramics
February 24th - March 5th, 2023
Exhibition
Exhibition view
For over 30 years now, whenever I come across a great piece of work, I have had the habit of writing down what I see and hear as a mental note, and it has become a life's work for me.
By looking at not only the piece itself but also the accompanying items such as the box inscription, wrapping paper, and accompanying letter, you can get a sense of how much the piece has been loved.
I have been excited every time I draw on paper these works, which have continued for many years and are imbued with the thoughts of all the people who have been involved.
I transfer the three-dimensional work onto two-dimensional paper, then use the notes to create another three-dimensional work through my own filter.
The works that are created through this process will be presented as "copies."
When it comes to copying, I think the important thing is how close you can get to the original work.
However, in my case, I feel that a large part of my work is also influenced by my own emotions when I see the original.
I would be happy if those who view my works can re-experience the encounters I had with each piece.
Shion Tabata
It has been 30 years since I first met Shion.
In his youth, he worked at the Osaka art dealer Tanimatsuya Toda Shoten, where he learned by observing the essence of the finest things and people through the things he saw, touched, and the people he met and spoke to, and he developed as a person and became a ceramic artist.
Her earnestness and brilliant sensibility mirrored those of Kenzan and Ninsei in the mid-Edo period, and she aimed for Iga.
In 2004, she moved to Karuizawa, built an anagama kiln, and devoted herself to pottery. Her works have caught the attention of tea masters and famous restaurants, and she now holds solo exhibitions every two years at the Nomura Museum of Art in Kyoto.
A special edition of "Shion Notebook," a collection of Shion's drawings from the Nomura Museum of Art collection that he has been saving for many years, will be published in November 2022.
At a simultaneous solo exhibition, she produced pottery based on the drawings in the notebook and exhibited them together, which attracted a lot of attention.
This time, the exhibition at Ginza Ippodo will be a triumphant return of his work. It will be an exhibition that no one has ever seen before, so I am really looking forward to it.
Keiko Aono
Shion Tabata
Shion Tabata
Born in Kitakyushu in 1947.
From 1985, he worked for Tanimatsuya Toda Shoten, a tea ceremony utensil dealer in Osaka, for five years.
There, he had the opportunity to see many masterpieces, and through this valuable experience, he entered the world of pottery making in 1991.
He looked up to Ogata Kenzan, who was active in Kyoto in the mid-Edo period, as his teacher and studied pottery making while striving to imitate Kenzan's style.
He received instruction from Master Tachibana Daiki of Nyoian Temple at Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto, Master Yuki Teiichi of the Japanese restaurant Kitcho, Mr. Toda Shonosuke of Tanimatsuya Toda Shoten, and ceramic artist Mr. Sugimoto Sadamitsu, and learned about the world of tea and pottery.
In 2004, he built a kiln in Karuizawa.
Since 2006, he has held solo exhibitions every other year (November of even-numbered years) at the Nomura Museum of Art.
In 2014, he published a collection of his own works, Shiki-yoku. Currently, his pottery is supplied to Japanese restaurants such as Kashiwaya, Kanoushoujuan, Kitcho, Komago, Suyama, Tsukumo, Tenki, Hakuun, Mizai, and Mishimatei (in alphabetical order).