Tatsuya Kimura

Driven by a profound affinity for ancient ceramics and the cultures that surrounded them, Tatsuya Kimura has attracted attention since the beginning of his career for his Yamachawan works. At the same time, since his student years, he has consistently pursued a body of work based on the concept of using clays that, throughout history, were never chosen because they were considered unsuitable for ceramics. In recent years, the techniques he has adopted to realize this concept have become increasingly diverse, steadily broadening the expressive range of his work. The kiln Kimura uses is a simple anagama, constructed by digging into the ground and adding only a chimney. Even during firing, he relies not on thermometers but on his own experience and physical intuition. This process itself forms an essential part of the work and also represents an attempt to engage with the structured anagama kiln—which was introduced to Japan as a revolutionary technology—under the same conditions as the potters of the past. Kimura's works are never mere reproductions. They are grounded in two essential elements: the act of seeking out new clays and the physical process embedded in the firing. In this sense, his practice comes remarkably close to making the potters of the past present.