The Cleveland Ceramics of Yasuhisa Kohyama

November 6 – December 19, 2009

The Cleveland Ceramics of Yasuhisa Kohyama

Artist Interview in Cleveland Magazine
Cleveland Scene Kohyama Review
Akron Beacon Journal Kohyama Article

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Yasuhisa Kohyama (b.1936 in Shigaraki, Japan) is a contemporary master of the ancient practice of Sueki, a pottery making technique that originated in southern China and was brought to Japan from South Korea in the fourth century B.C. With Sueki, the potter uses no glazes and develops a glassy appearance, striking surface textures, and a range of muted natural colors only through use of a particular clay body high in aggregate, a very high temperature firing in a wood burning kiln, and the placement of the pottery in relationship to the heat and swirling wood ash of the kiln.
 
Kohyama’s works are collected internationally and were first brought to the attention of Clevelanders when they were purchased for The Cleveland Museum of Art by Director Sherman Lee. Kohyama has given three intensive workshops at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) and Kent State University, in 1993 and 1999, and most recently at the Cleveland Institute of Art in fall 2008.This exhibition includes 19 boldly formed pieces created by Kohyama while at the CIA this past fall and fired this spring in Kent State University’s Art Department anagama kiln, one of only two such wood fired kilns in the state.

This exhibition featured an in gallery performance by the musical ensemble FiveOne. Click here to see pictures from the performance and to learn more.

Yasuhisa Kohyama DANPEN (Slice of Earth) 2009 Shigaraki stoneware, wood-fired 23 1/2 x 7 7/8 x 7 1/8 inches Courtesy of the artist Image courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Andrew LeMoreaux	DANPEN: Seasonal Ohara School Ikebana arrangement by Ingrid Lüders (Grand Master)
Yasuhisa Kohyama HOMURA (Flame) 2009 Shigaraki stoneware, wood-fired 21 1/2 x 17 x 5 1/2 inches Courtesy of the artist Image courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Andrew LeMoreaux	Yasuhisa Kohyama SORA (Space) 2009 Shigaraki stoneware, wood-fired 18 x 61 inches (diameter) Courtesy of the artist Image courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Andrew LeMoreaux
Yasuhisa Kohyama DANPEN (Slice of Earth) – overall and detail 2009 Shigaraki stoneware, wood-fired 13 x 13 x 4 5/8 inches Courtesy of the artist Image courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Andrew LeMoreaux

Kohyama’s works are exhibited and collected internationally and were first brought to the attention of Clevelanders when they were purchased for the Cleveland Museum of Art by then Director Sherman Lee and then Curator of Japanese and Korean Art Michael Cunningham. They are also included in the collections of the Everson Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, all of New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA, The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto, Canada, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Museum het Keramiek- museum Princessehoff, Leeuwarden, and the Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch (Museum of Contemporary Art), ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands,  Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany, The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shiga, Japan, and other institutions worldwide.

For more information call 216.229.6527 or go to info@sculpturecenter.org.

The Sculpture Center is a not-for-profit arts institution dedicated to the advancement of the careers of emerging Ohio sculptors and the preservation of Ohio outdoor sculpture as a means to provide support for artists and to effect the enrichment, education, enjoyment, and visual enhancement of the Cleveland community and greater region.

The Sculpture Center receives generous support from the Bernice and David E. Davis Art Foundation, the Kulas Foundation, the John P. Murphy Foundation, studioTECHNE|architects, and individual donors to Friends of The Sculpture Center. The Sculpture Center is also generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Finally, The Ohio Arts Council funds The Sculpture Center with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

The Bernice and David E. Davis Art Foundation and studioTECHNE|architects generously provide the spaces for The Sculpture Center’s programs.