Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen

This February, Portland Japanese Garden is pleased to present Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen in the Pavilion Gallery. On loan from the Collection of David Sneider and Naomi Pollock, this exhibition celebrates contemporary ceramic art and vessels that preserve a time-honored collaboration of earth, fire, and the artist’s hand. Recognized as one of the Rokkoyō (六石窯) Six Ancient Kilns of Japan, Bizen is a ceramic center that has continued its unique form of pottery for over 900 years. Notable for their rustic, textured, and unglazed forms, the ceramics featured in Earthen Elegance reveal the depths of the Bizen pottery tradition. Today the town of Bizen hosts nearly 300 active kilns with artists continuing to use local materials and an ancient wood-firing process. Featuring work by many of Bizen’s leading potters including Jun Isezaki and Ryuichi Kakurezaki, the exhibition presents both functional vessels and innovative sculptural forms that expand the frontier of Bizen ware.