YOSHIMITSU ISHIHARA

Yoshimitsu Ishihara (B. 1971, Osaka, Japan) makes hand-crafted, wood-fired ceramic sculptures and tableware at his home studio in Fukuoka, on Japan’s westernmost island of Kyushu. After spending two years as a lecturer in the sculpture department of the University of Fine Arts in Kyoto, he found himself drawn to the idea of working in a quiet, rural environment year round, where he could devote his time and attention to the art of pottery. In 2002, he began apprenticing under his father, the ceramic artist Shoji Ishihara, at his home studio in Wakamiya City. In 2006, Ishihara struck out on his own, moving to his current home and studio in the woods of Fukuoka, where he hand-built a traditional, wood-fired nobori-gama kiln, which he uses to fire his works at every stage of production, from bisque firing to finishing. He has spent 17 years honing his craft, distinguished by its use of ancient methods and natural materials, from the rice husk Ishihara buries and coats his vessels in to the red clay he uses to construct them, which he digs by hand from the hills surrounding his studio.

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Process

ISHIHARA IS A CERAMICIST WHO CONSIDERS AND PAYS RESPECT TO THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE METHODOLOGIES WHILE USING HIS OWN INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES AND MODES OF EXPRESSION.

ISHIHARA AT WORK AT HIS APARTMENT, AFTER GRADUATING WITH A MASTERS IN SCULPTURE FROM KYOTO CITY UNIVERSITY OF ARTS.

DUE TO THE DURATION OF HIS PROCESS, WHICH CULMINATES IN A MORE THAT 40 HOUR FIRING. THESE ASTONISHING VESSELS ARE CREATED ONLY TWICE A YEAR - IN SPRING AND FALL.

WITH A BACKGROUND IN SCULPTURE, ISHIHARA PREFERS TO FORM HIS PIECES FREE HAND WITH LOCAL CLAY DUG FROM THE SURROUNDING REGION.

ISHIHARA'S CARBONIZED WORKS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY THEIR PALETTE OF BLACKENED EARTH TONES. ACHIEVED THROUGH AN ANCIENT PROCESS OF BURYING THE PIECES IN BURNT RICE HULL PRIOR TO FIRING.

DUE TO THE DURATION OF HIS PROCESS, WHICH CULMINATES IN A MORE THAT 40 HOUR FIRING. THESE ASTONISHING VESSELS ARE CREATED ONLY TWICE A YEAR - IN SPRING AND FALL.