Tsujimura Kai
Kai Tsujimura - 20th Anniversary Encounter 100 Bowls Exhibition -
June 23 - July 2, 2023
Exhibition
Exhibition view
In 1996, he opened Zakurozaka Gallery Ippodo in a corner of the New Takanawa Prince Hotel in Shinagawa.
It has been 20 years since Tsujimura Kai's works were displayed in this long, narrow brick gallery.
As it was his first solo exhibition in Tokyo, there were long queues of people and he sold an astonishing number of large vases, vases, tea bowls, sake cups, and large and small tableware.
To this day, I have never sold so much pottery and had to wrap it up.
Tsujimura Kai created the history and records of Ippodo.
His solo exhibition is held in Ginza every two years, and every time I go to Mount Sakurai to select works, I am pleased to see his growth.
He has become such a fine potter that we can no longer call him Katamari-kun.
I am impressed by his sincere attitude towards pottery making.
With difficulty and enjoyment, he kneaded the clay, turned the potter's wheel, and fired the pieces, and the pottery soon took on the appearance of his father, Shiro Tsujimura's pottery mounds on Mizuma Mountain.
This time, Kai Tsujimura brought 100 bowls of various styles, including Shino, Ido, Kuro Oribe, Kohiki, and Iga, which he is confident in recently.
Keiko Aono
Kai Tsujimura
Tsujimura Kai
Kai Tsujimura was close to his father from an early age, helping him, and naturally entered the world of pottery. His father, Shiro Tsujimura's work, seems to have nurtured in him the rigors of work, the joys of creativity, and an insatiable desire to challenge beauty. A good artist is required to have the ability to see good things in his own work and the work of others. His work is one in which you can sense both his subjectivity and objectivity. His strong will and his fresh, but never immature, imposing shapes and the beauty of the finished product show the magnitude of his talent. In 2000, he left his parents' home and opened a mountain village in Nara with his own hands, building a house and workshop out of round timber from the mountains. He still cuts wood from the mountains and fires his kilns. Because it is a pit kiln, he fires small quantities at a time. This is why there are changes in each kiln, and the shapes and finished products are very interesting.
1976 Born in Nara Prefecture
1994 Studied under his father, Shiro Tsujimura
2000: Built a kiln in Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, and became independent
2003 First solo exhibition at Zakurozaka Gallery Ippodo
2008 Solo exhibition at Ippodo, New York
2010 Acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota, USA
2010- Every other year, he holds a solo exhibition at Ginza Ippodo
Numerous other solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto