Noriyuki Furutani solo exhibition

We are delighted to present a solo exhibition by Noriyuki Furutani—the first artist specializing in Tenmoku ware to exhibit at our gallery!

Contemporary Tenmoku often brings to mind carefully formulated materials and firing processes controlled with extreme precision. Furutani’s approach, however, is somewhat different.

Not all of his works are made this way, but many are fired in an anagama, a wood-fired kiln whose conditions are inherently unpredictable. The pieces are placed inside saya—protective containers that shield them from direct flame and ash—so the influence of the wood fire may be somewhat reduced. Even so, Furutani says that changing the fuel inevitably changes the way the pieces emerge from the firing.

Despite choosing a process so strongly influenced by natural and unpredictable forces, Furutani is exceptionally strict when selecting his finished works. Whenever I visit his kiln, I find piles of rejected pieces that look perfectly beautiful to my eyes.

From this demanding process, the works that ultimately meet Furutani’s own standards possess something remarkable: within their crisp, dignified forms, they seem to contain the beauty of nature itself.

To me, they represent something close to an ideal form of ceramics.

The exhibition will feature a wide variety of works, including not only pieces fired in the anagama but also works created using Furutani’s own distinctive technique, which he calls Tōgin Tenmoku.

We very much hope you will come and see the exhibition.