ITŌ Hidehito (b. 1971) has not shied away from tackling the long, storied tradition of celadon, nor from engaging with its daunting array of styles. Earlier in his career, he experimented with white porcelain (hakuji) and marbleized (nerikomi) porcelain, but his dedicated study of Song Dynasty ceramics has led to his latest body of work that dives into the variety of celadon types using the exceedingly difficult craquelure technique. Pushing his forms even further, some works are fully sculptural and flaunt the craquelure effect in rounded, spherical shapes or sharply pleated monoliths.

Itō Hidehito was born in Gifu and graduated from the Institute of Ceramic Art and Design in Tajimi City. A few years later in 1996, he built his kiln nearby in Toki City. Celebrated for his tradition-based contemporary explorations of the porcelain medium, his ceramics are characterized by simplicity of form that underscores the beauty of their materials. Through the thinness of their walls, delicacy of form, and elegance of the glazing, Itō's works always convey a remarkable sense of natural movement.

While still a young artist in 1995, he won a major prize for excellence and has been regularly winning awards ever since. In 2017, he won the prestigious Japan Ceramic Society Award. His works can be found in the collections of leading museums in Japan, such as the Paramita Museum, Mie; Mino Ceramic Art Museum, Tajimi; and Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Kasama, and in several museums in the United States, such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI; Cincinnati Art Museum, OH; and Crocker Art Museum, CA.

Classical Dignity, Contemporary Beauty: Itō Hidehito opens on September 17 and runs through October 15, 2021. It will feature sixteen new masterworks that showcase Itō's contemporary approach to celadon ware. 

About Joan B. Mirviss LTD
With more than forty-five years of experience, Joan B. Mirviss is a pillar in the field of Japanese art. As a dealer, scholar, curator, and advisor, she has been the driving force championing the top Japanese clay artists, who she represents exclusively, and whose works she has placed in major museums around the globe. Widely published as a highly respected expert, Mirviss has built many institutional and private collections of Japanese art. JOAN B MIRVISS LTD exhibits modern and contemporary Japanese ceramics, ukiyo-e, and Japanese paintings from its exclusive Madison Avenue location in New York City.

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