Takuro Kuwata
b. 1981, Japan
Takuro Kuwata (b. 1981, Hiroshima, Japan) lives and works in Toki City, Gifu. Kuwata graduated from Kyoto Saga Art College, Department of Fine Arts, in Ceramic Arts (2001), and started studying under master potter Susumu Zaima in 2002.
In 2015, Kuwata was awarded a grant from the Arts Council Tokyo, which culminated in a solo presentation at the Sogetsu Plaza, Tokyo, titled ‘Heaven, Indoor Stone Garden’. In 2018, Kuwata was awarded one of two special mentions as a finalist for the LOEWE Craft Prize 2018 and his work was subsequently displayed in the award’s exhibition at the Design Museum, London.
Kuwata is best known for his bold combinations of traditional ceramic techniques and experimental sculptural processes, which have been presented in numerous institutions worldwide. Rendering his ceramics in a highly colourful visual palette, Kuwata breaks from the conventional aesthetic of wabi-sabi, instead creating fractured forms, vivid glazes, metallic embellishments and glistening droplets that congeal on the surfaces of his vessels.
But while his approach might be framed as wholly radical, Kuwata has frequently underlined his staunch commitment to historical techniques used in Japanese craft: ‘I’m not trying to break the rules’, he has reflected. ‘I just want to apply a contemporary sensibility to pottery. I believe I can create something truly new, work that reflects our time.’
Kuwata has had solo exhibitions at Salon 94, New York, US (2021); Kakiden Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2020); Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, 7F Exhibition Hall, Tokyo, Japan (2020); Ginza Kuroda Touen Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2019); Pierre Marie Giraud, Brussels, Belgium (2019); Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto, Japan (2019); Hagi Uragami Museum, Yamaguchi, Japan (2019); Galería Mascota, Mexico City, Mexico (2018); Trading Museum Comme des Garçons, Tokyo, Japan (2018); Kakiden Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2018); Kosaku Kanechika, Tokyo, Japan (2017); Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK (2017); Gendai Tougei Kandori, Tokyo, Japan (2017); and Sogetsu Plaza, Tokyo, Japan (2015); amongst others.
His work is included in notable collections including Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, US; The Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, US; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, US; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan; University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, US; Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art, Kanazawa, Japan; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US; and Rakusuitei Museum of Art, Toyama, Japan.