KOSAKU KANECHIKA is proud to present “Dear Friend”, a duo exhibition by Dan McCarthy and Takuro Kuwata from March 5 to April 9, 2022.

In the global art scene, contemporary ceramic art is said to have reached its peak around 2014, a time when many artists began to incorporate ceramics in their practice and long-time ceramic artists were rediscovered. This trend has remained vibrant since 2014, with ceramic art becoming established as a field of its own in contemporary sculpture.

Since the beginning of this trend, the art of Dan McCarthy and Takuro Kuwata has continually garnered attention, attaining iconic status. The vivid colors and playful forms – as seen in McCarthy’s Face Pots and Kuwata’s bold artistic expression achieved with glaze in his tea bowls made using the kairagi ceramic technique – fascinate viewers. On closer examination, one notices the technical refinement underpinning the appeal of their art – the application of ceramic techniques such as experimentation with glazing, the method of firing, and other methods such as kintsugi and ishihaze. However, what these two artists share in common is not so much their pursuit of technical mastery per se as how they both bring out the characteristics of the material while showing their respect for it, but also view it objectively from the perspective of different cultures and generations, and in so doing, expand the context of ceramic material and pioneer a new realm of ceramic art. The art of McCarthy and Kuwata, in which the artists both revere and enjoy the inherently primitive process of creating ceramics, which entails not knowing the end result until the work is fired in the furnace, provides many insights for achieving freedom.

McCarthy, who will be presenting his works in Japan for the first time, provided the following statement about the exhibition.

Intuition is where I begin
Describing a vessel as a container of something
Vessels take shapes for the things they might contain

the making is created from an inquiry
starting with what a container is and what it might contain
made by hand it arises without my thought

an inquiry as to what’s possible
wet clay dries, gets coated in glass, stone like
the freedom in the making describes possibilities

the making calls only for actions
The artwork is finished when it becomes whole and complete
the vessel becomes a shared experience

containing something for someone
A ceramic object that could inspire or point the future
An object whose making would create freedom for myself and others.

Dan McCarthy
Jan. 18, 2022

The idea for this duo exhibition came from Kuwata, who felt that, while McCarthy’s art shared similarities with his own, the approach McCarthy took was completely different. One can imagine how these two artists, who create art through dialogue between the material and environment, have come to understand each other’s work. Bringing the works of both artists physically together at this exhibition allows the artists’ creations to begin a more intimate dialogue – in a language that can perhaps communicate more subtly than words allow. Viewers will witness, and at times mediate, the encounter. Kuwata expects this exhibition to be an important starting point for exploring the direction in which he takes his own work. This show is also likely to prove significant for future trends in contemporary ceramic art.

Please join us for “Dear Friend,” which presents 15 works, including paintings, by McCarthy and 10 works by Kuwata. The exhibition space was designed by Tokyo-based architect Kentaro Ishida.