Biography

Exhibitions

2002
The 85th Saga Art Exhibition, Saga Prefectural Art Museum, Japan (’03, ’04, ’06)
2003
The 33rd Nagasaki Ceramic Art Exhibition, Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum, Japan

The 53rd Saga Prefectural Exhibition, Saga Prefectural Art Museum, Japan (’04, ’07)
2004
The 20th Contemporary Arts and Crafts Exhibition of Kyushu, The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Japan

The 25th Chikugo Art Exhibition, Sathankusu Chikugo, Japan
2005
The 102nd Kyushu Yamaguchi Ceramic Art Exhibition, The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Japan (’07, ’12, ’13)
2006
Group Exhibition, The Saga City Cultural Museum, Japan
2007
The 28th Choza Prize Contemporary Ceramic Art Exhibition, Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Japan (’13)

45th Commemorative Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition, The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan
2008
64th Fukuoka Prefectural Art Exhibition, Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan (’09, ’10, ’11, ’12)

Mashiko Ceramic Art Exhibition, Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art, Japan
2009
Young Artists Group Exhibition, House of Ryoichi Yamaguchi, Japan
2010
KUMAMOTO FINAL Biennale, Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, Japan

Contemporary Ceramics Hagi Grand Prize Exhibition III, Hagi Uragami Museum, Japan
2011
9th International Ceramics Festival, Mino, Japan

Kobe Biennale Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition, The Museum of Ceramic Art / BB Plaza Museum of Art, Japan
2012
Lines and Curves Exhibition, Fukuoka, Japan
2013
58th Faenza International Ceramic Exhibition, Faenza, Italy (’15)

5th Kikuchi Biennale Ceramic Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan

22nd Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition, Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Japan
2014
Tobi Ceramic Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan

Collect, London, UK (’15)

The Beauty of Materials, Galerie Marianne Heller, Germany

loops. lines. curves – kanjiro moriyama Solo exhibition, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2015
Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’16, ’17)

Japan!, Mouvements Modernes, Paris, France

Art Miami, USA (’16, ’17, ’18)
2016
Spring Masters New York, USA

EAF Monaco, Monaco

end of the world supernova – kanjiro moriyama, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2017
TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’18, ’19, ’20, ’22)

TEFAF New York Spring, USA
2018
Seattle Art Fair, USA

fly me to the moon – kanjiro moriyama, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2019
Solo Exhibition, Atelier HIRO, Osaka, Japan

Solo Exhibition, Takashimaya Department Store, Tokyo, Japan

Solo Exhibition, Iwataya Mitsukoshi Department Store, Fukuoka, Japan

Special Exhibition “Emerging from the clay – Saga University’s Pottery” Saga University Art Museum, Japan

West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China (’20)
2020
Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

end of the world supernova II – kanjiro moriyama, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
2021
Art Fair Tokyo, Japan

The Secret Show, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

RE:OPENING CEREMONY, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

Céramique Japonaise entre tradition et design contemporain, Centre céramique contemporaine La Borne, France

The Elemental – Music of the Spheres –, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

The Armory Show, New York, USA

ART 021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, China
2022
Pure Form: Japanese Sculptural Ceramics, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

A Lighthouse called Kanata New York Pop-Up, USA

Awards

2007　Grand Prize, Asahi Ceramics Exhibition
2013　Mayor’s Prize, The 110th Kyushu / Yamaguchi Ceramic Art Exhibition
　　　Encouragement Award, Kobe Biennale Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition
　　　Selected, 58th Faenza International Ceramic Exhibition, Faenza, Italy
　　　Selected, 5th Kikuchi Biennale Ceramic Exhibition
2014　Award of Excellence, Ceramic Art of Today, 3rd Hagi Grand Prize Exhibition
　　　14th Kakiemon Memorial Award, The 2nd TOBI Ceramic Art Exhibition
2016　Grand Prize, The 4th TOBI Ceramic Art Exhibition
　　　Minister’s Prize, Arita International Ceramics Competition
2017　Nominated, The 24th Japan Ceramics Exhibition
　　　Selected, The 11th Mino International Ceramics Competition
　　　Selected, The 7th Kikuchi Ceramics Biennale
2019　Iwakuni Art Museum Prize, Ceramic Art of Today, 5th Hagi Grand Prize Exhibition
　　　Award of Excellence, The 8th Kikuchi Ceramics Biennale

Public Collections

Victoria & Albert Museum, UK
Asian Art Museum, USA
Faenza International Ceramics Museum, Italy
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
The Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Muller Museum, Dallas, USA
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Japan
Gitter-Yelen Collection, New Orleans, USA
Art Gallery of South Australia, Australia

Selected Commissions Works

Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Nanjing, China
Raffles Shenzhen, China

森山寛二郎 Kanjiro
Moriyama Kanjiro
Moriyama

Kai (Turn) VII

H92 × W53 × D56 cm / H36.2 × W20.8 × D22 in

Kanjiro
Moriyama

Profile

1984 Born in Koishiwara, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
2007 Saga University / Lives and works in Koishiwara

01 Exhibitions More
02 Awards More
03 Public Collections More

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About
the ArtistAbout
the Artist

The idyllic kiln site of Koishiwara is a traditional Mingei folk pottery, tucked away from view in the gentle foothills of Kyushu. Yet from this sleepy locale comes forth the riveting abstract sculptures of Kanjiro Moriyama (b. 1984 –), an artist who embraces the clay of his hometown, yet with a penchant for the avant-garde. There is a purity to his lines and curves, a visceral elegance that speaks volumes of the nature of the artist himself. Much like his work, the youthful Moriyama is a juxtaposition of many elements; at once starry-eyed and innocent, yet possessing an aesthetic wisdom beyond his years; extraordinarily humble, yet brimming with sculptural confidence.

He is many things, and that is why Moriyama has quickly become one of the forerunners of a new generation of emerging A Lighthouse called Kanata artists who push the boundaries of their materials and techniques to new heights, this prominence being recognized by acquisitions by 7 public collections while still in his mid-30’s. In particular, Moriyama is a pioneer in taking the humble potter’s wheel, a tool predominantly used for the mass production of vessel forms, and turning it into a viable means for abstraction, essentially deconstructing the pots he throws into dynamically oscillating silhouettes. With soaring new works that seemingly defy gravity, Moriyama’s singular aesthetics bring us a step closer to the heavens.