Nagae Shigekazu

Born 1953, Seto, Aichi, Japan

There is a remarkable balance between artistry and technical brilliance within the work of Nagae Shigekazu. Following the traditions of his native Seto, Nagae’s artistic process begins with two ikomi molds cast using liquid porcelain. Following drying and bisque-firing, the two eggshell-thin form are suspended inside one another within the kiln. The intense heat of the final firing causes the form to fuse where they were glazed and to further distend, bend and drape around each other. The resulting natural movement leads to elegant shapes and lyrical curves, one form mirroring the other.

Selected Museum Collections:

Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC
Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives, UK
Cernuschi Museum, Paris, France
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, NY
Japan Foundation, New York, NY
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
Musée Asiana, Geneva, Switzerland 
Musée Nationale de Cèramique, Sèvres, France
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL
Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
Seto City Art Museum, Seto, Japan
Shiga Cultural Ceramic Park, Japan
Tokoname City Museum, Japan
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK