Celebrating Asian Art

Unexpected Dialogues: Japanese Ceramics in New Contexts ZOOM Gallery Talk

June 22, 2023 at 5pm EST (New York)

Because contemporary Japanese ceramics are so versatile, they can stand in comfortable and even intriguing conversation with all kinds of art. Encompassing a wide variety of forms, styles, surface treatments and patterning, their many alluring aspects speak to other artworks from vastly different cultures and time periods. The resulting dialogues enrich our understanding of not only the juxtaposed art but also of the people who have thoughtfully brought them together.

In this ZOOM Gallery Talk, expert panelists show us the many new contexts that they have discovered for contemporary Japanese ceramics. With curator Heather Brown, collectors Nancy and Joe Keithley examine their extraordinary interdisciplinary collection and how it was displayed privately and then publicly at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Curator Mari Hanazato, who was part of the Musée Tomo in Tokyo from its inception, explores how a museum's physical space is integral to sparking unexpected dialogues between artworks and among visitors. New York-based collector Matthew Nimetz expands upon his reflections in the 2019 book, The Allure of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, and talks about living with a diverse collection built over decades.

PANELISTS:
Heather Lemonedes Brown, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
Mari Hanazato, Curator at Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, formerly chief curator at Musée Tomo, Tokyo
Nancy and Joe Keithley, Ohio-based art collectors and museum patrons
Matthew Nimetz, New York-based art collector
moderated by Joan Mirviss

To register for this free event, please click here.

Coming to Life: Vernal Expressions in Clay
New Work by Hattori Makiko
International Solo Debut of Akashi Ryōtarō

May 2, 2023 – June 16, 2023

This spring, two Japanese ceramic artists, still early in their careers, consider the timely themes of birth and growth in all new works created for Joan B Mirviss LTD. Artist Hattori Makiko presents her signature sculptural forms covered in painstakingly hand-applied gathered shavings of clay. Akashi Ryōtarō explores new techniques with platinum overglazes that catch and throw light over the precisely carved surfaces of his biomorphic forms. After the past few years of isolation and uncertainty, both artists express through their latest work a sustained wonder at the miraculous and delicate nature of new life. Through extremely intricate textured surfaces, time-consuming to create, both artists engage in an act of meditation resulting in artwork that contemplates the mysteries that come to define spring.