Archaic Avant-Garde: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Horvitz Collection

Japanese, Haniwa of Female Shaman (Miko), Kofun period, 200s-500s C.E., Earthenware
Japanese, Haniwa of Female Shaman (Miko), Kofun period, 200s-500s C.E., Earthenware, Alexander H. Bullock Fund, 1964.70

October 27, 2018 – March 1, 2020

While modern and contemporary artists are known to have looked outside their immediate cultural realm to expand their sources for modern inspiration, many of them at the same time were also looking at their own culture's ancient techniques and forms. Archaic Avant-Garde focuses on contemporary Japan's leading ceramicists who have explored and experimented with ancient Japanese pottery techniques and forms to invigorate their own modern creations. This case rotation features works from such renowned late twentieth-century potters as Kamoda Shoji, Mori Togaku, and Mihara Ken, to emerging stars such as Isezaki Koichiro, along with ancient and early Japanese ceramics from the Worcester Art Museum collection.

Selected Images:

EZAKI Issei, Untitled, Wood-fired Tokoname stoneware with natural ash glaze EZAKI Issei, Untitled, Wood-fired Tokoname stoneware with natural ash glaze, Collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, 31.18.1
MORI Togaku, Untitled (water jar), about 1990, unglazed stoneware MORI Togaku, Untitled (water jar), about 1990, unglazed stoneware, Collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, 31.18.11
Koichiro ISEZAKI, Penguin #3, 2016, wood-fired, Bizen stonewareKoichiro ISEZAKI, Penguin #3, 2016, wood-fired, Bizen stoneware, Collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, 31.18.3
TAKAHIKO Kato, Untitled, 2015, natural, ash-glazed Shigaraki stoneware TAKAHIKO Kato, Untitled, 2015, natural, ash-glazed Shigaraki stoneware, Collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, 31.18.8