Biography

Exhibitions

Selected Exhibitions

1981
Mitsukoshi Department Store, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan (’87, ’95, ’97, ’99, ’02, ’05, ’08, ’11, ’14, ’17, ’20)
1996
KIMURA Yoshiro, Gallery Daiichi Arts, New York, USA
2008
Design Miami / Basel, Galerie Pierre Marie Giraud, Switzerland (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18)
2009
Kimura Yoshiro, Galerie Pierre Marie Giraud, Belgium

Glass and Ceramics Today, L’Arc en Seine, New York, USA
2010
Path of Elegance between the East and the West, the Villa Empain, Belgium
2012
Giappone Terra Di Incanti, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy

Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (’15)

Vallauris Ceramics Biennale, France
2014
Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (’16, ’17)

TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
2019
Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK
2020
Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
2022
Ceramics of the Past and of the Future:The Timelessness of Traditional Japanese Craft Arts, National Crafts Museum, Ishikawa, Japan

Masterpiece London, UK
2023
Desing Miami / Paris, France (’24)

Water in Crafts and Design: Color, Form, and Texture, National Crafts Museum, Ishikawa, Japan

Visions of the Sea, Kanata at MIKIMOTO New York, USA
2024
The Treasure House Fair, London, UK

Mastering the Art: Exploring the Cultural Messages Connoted in Japanese Works, Remains of Imperial Guard Division HQ, Tokyo, Japan

Awards

Selected Awards
1984　　Encouragement Prize, 31st Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition
　　 Prize of Excellence, Chanoyu-no-Zokei Exhibition, Tanabe Museum (’93)
1989 Quasi Grand Prize, 1st Ceramics Biennial ’89
1990 Hiroshima Art Grant ’90 Award
2000 Bronze Prize, Exhibition of the Sixth Taiwan Golden Ceramics Awards
2001 Kaneshige Toyo Prize, Japan Traditional Art Crafts Chugoku Division
2003 The Sanyo Shimbun Culture Prize
2005 62nd Chugoku Cultural Prize
2020 Asahi Shimbun Newspaper Prize, 67th Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition
2021 Regional Cultural Meritorious Service Award

Public Collections

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Foundation, Japan
Imperial Household Agency, Japan
Jingu Shrine, Japan
Gifu Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art, Japan
Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, Japan
Higashi- Hiroshima Museum of Art, Japan
Hiroshima University, Japan
Okayama Shoka University, Japan
Tanabe Museum of Art, Japan
Shigaraki Cultural Ceramic Park, Japan
Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Japan
Hasegawa Machiko Museum, Japan
Faenza Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Italy
Auckland Institute & Museum, New Zealand
Museo Art Nouveau y Art Déco, Spain
Japan-Spain Cultural Center of Salamanca University, Spain
Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Portugal
Victoria & Albert Museum, UK
Musée national de céramique, France
Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia
Qatar Visual Art Center, Qatar
World Ceramics Exhibition Foundation, South Korea
Auckland Museum, New Zealand
The British Museum, UK
Faenza Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Italy
Japan-Spain Cultural Center of Salamanca University, Spain
Museo Art Nouveau y Art Déco, Spain
Magritte Foundation, Belgium
Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Portugal
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia
Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan
Auckland Museum, New Zealand
Qatar Visual Art Center, Qatar
World Ceramics Exhibition Foundation, South Korea
Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Belgium
The Walters Art Museum, USA
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, USA

木村芳郎 Yoshiro
Kimura Yoshiro
Kimura

Vessel with Blue Glaze

H11.2 x W48.8 x D45.4 cm

Yoshiro
Kimura

Profile

1946 Born in Ehime Prefecture, Japan
Live and Works in Hiroshima, Japan

01 Exhibitions More
02 Awards More
03 Public Collections More

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About
the ArtistAbout
the Artist

To capture the deep, bold blues of the oceans and skies upon the surfaces of his porcelain objects – such is Hiroshima-based artist Yoshiro Kimura’s (b. 1946 –) reason for creation. Deeply influenced by the philosophies behind Zen Buddhism and the Way of Tea, Kimura had travelled to over 47 countries throughout the world during his years in university, and was first drawn to the beauty of clay upon seeing the enigmatic blue pigments of ancient Persian ceramics.

Yet with the memory of witnessing first-hand the vivid colours of the Aegean Sea and the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii, Kimura would be inspired to recreate such natural beauty in his ceramic works. Kimura has received great acclaim for his signature bold hekiyu (blue glaze), with his works being collected by museums throughout the world, including the British Museum, the Musée national de céramique-Sèvres, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the Museo Art Nouveau y Art Déco in Salamanca, Spain, etc.

The artist commonly works with vessel forms, yet what Kimura Yoshiro tries to express is a Zen-like spirituality that brims from the gradations of colour that changes from light to dark blue, in particular as his glaze falls from the top of his works to their bases. Thrown on the wheel, his works feature a blend of porcelain and stoneware clays that help ease the process of throwing large forms. His trademark cobalt blue glaze was developed during his twenties, and with age, Kimura has been able to mature and develop the colours to its current, mesmerising depths, created with multiple layers and consecutive firings of great difficulty. One can also discover linear motifs etched upon the surfaces of his clay bodies, which further accentuate his blues and which add an extra dimension to his objects. Ultimately, Kimura draws upon and limns the beauty of the sky and oceans into his beautiful blues, often affectionately called ‘Kimura Blue’ by aficionados in Japan and the world over.