omg! ryota aoki! in nyc!!

beautiful cups

i have to find time (and money!) to get myself to nyc!!! i just learned that the ippodo gallery in nyc is exhibiting the work of brilliant ceramicist ryota aoki!! his work is truly inspiring and i’ve yet to see it in person. i first discovered ryota and his work about a year ago on a great (but now defunct) design blog called pingmagmake. its truly a shame that its no longer active and i still have hope that one day it’ll return.

sensual bowl design

anyways, the ippodo gallery is showcasing ryota’s work until august 31st. i wish i lived in nyc or closer to it!! Here’s a little blurb about this artists from the new york art beat (nyab) blog:

“Ryota Aoki was born in 1978. He dresses in Comme de Garcons fashions, wears a turban and ear piercings and works in a studio that looks like a secret hide-away with made-in-Japan rap blaring in the background. But what he does there is to engage in a conversation with the soil of Japan, with its earth. Aoki is a potter who has brought the refined and super-conservative ivory tower world of ceramics, remote from contemporary Japan, into the middle of cutting-edge street culture…

For Japanese ceramics, the soul of Japan’s traditional aesthetic flourished in the 16th and 17th century. At that time, the Way of Tea reached unprecedented level of refinement and the generals of the Warring States period competed for famous utensils. Aoki learned about the remarkable activities of these potters from a popular serialized manga and has been tireless in sharing their achievements with the people of his generation. ‘The ceramic arts degenerated because people were only trying to reproduce things like the Shino and Oribe pieces that were made in the Momoyama Period.’ Aoki says, ‘My role is to inherit the spirit of the Momoyama Period and make pottery that fits in with our world today.’ By creating a network of potters about 30 years old, he is making steady progress in building up the kind of momentum that existed 400 years ago.

In Aoki’s studio, there is an array of beakers containing various clays and glazes; and when he discovers a new material or color, he is tireless in trying this or that scientific experiment until he can re-create them. In that spirit, the theme of his first exhibition here at ippodo New York is “The New Ceramics Laboratory.” It provides a multi-faceted view of Aoki’s experiments with clays, temperature, texture, glazes, techniques (mold or wheel) and size.

Interest in Aoki’s story is such that a Japanese documentary TV-maker has been chronicling his life, and this New York exhibition will be the final segment. And toward the end of July, Sen So’oku, the future Grand Master of the Mushakoji Senke Traditional School of Tea, is planning to use Aoki’s tea utensils in a thought-provoking Tea in the Gallery.“

okees…so that wasn’t a ‘little’ blurb but i can’t help myself. this is soooooo exciting!!!! omg! if you are in nyc, please please check out ryota’s work! and tell me about your experience! if i’m not able to get to nyc before the end of august, i’ll have to live vicariously through you!

more beautiful ryota work

the gallery address: 521 W 26th St., New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-967-4899

the gallery website.

more beautiful aoki works

what do you guys think of ryota’s work? are you in love with it as much as i am? i really hope i’m able to see his exhibition!!