Striking gold
inspiration for visitors
to the ceramics valley 2021
Update
UPDATE: The festival will be held 2021.09.30 - 10.17
Opening hours: 10.00 - 18.00
Opening hours: 10.00 - 18.00
Tomonari Kato's award-winning work "Topological Formation". We took the liberty to drop it in a desert. Backdrop photo by Frederik Löwer on Unsplash.
Tomonari Kato lives just a stone's throw from our house up on the hill in the neighbouring village Takata. It's quite a steep climb on a very narrow, meandering road. Not even the locals can navigate it safely. Some time ago a small truck fell half-way off and got stuck with two wheels spinning in mid-air. Anybody unfamiliar with the area could easily get lost, but by the time you arrive at Kato's factory, it's easy to tell an artist must be working there. Strange objects sit here and there around the place.
Ceramic artist Tomonari Kato, Tajimi, Japan.
Kato was the winner of the Gold Prize for his work "Topological Formation" in the Ceramics Category at the 11th International Ceramic Competition Mino in 2017. Next year this massive Ceramics event will be held again, to celebrate ceramic design and art. People from all over the world will compete for a USD 45,000 Gold Prize, and a multitude of events and exhibitions will take place in the area. There will be something for everyone, and if you ever wanted to go to Japan to enjoy ceramics, this is the time (more information here).
We interviewed Kato about his creative work on a chilly day in December 2019.
"The pieces you see outside here are some of my early attempts. I have a very different ambition now."
We found Kato busy in a small workshop with another worker. Kato, 47, is quite a tall man for a Japanese with a deep, friendly voice. He greets us and we walk over to his factory, where we find ourselves looking around at a vast number of ceramic wares on shelves from floor to ceiling. They seemed quite ordinary compared to his artistic work. "This is the bulk of my production," Kato smiles. "You have to eat after all."
We enter a small, barren room with a concrete floor. The artist scrambles for chairs for us, and we sit down in a circle. "I had no plans to enter this business when I was young," he says. "I wanted to be a pilot. I took a test a couple of times but realised flying warplanes is a scary business. Someone told me it was a shame I didn't consider entering the ceramics industry. I was surprised he saw it that way, but my father was a ceramic material producer, so I guess the idea wasn't alien to me.
I lived in Kyushu in southern Japan at that time, where there is a famous production area in Arita. I went there to have a look at the factories. Their work consisted of filling molds with clay and firing it, then removing the mold. Rinse and repeat. It's the basic procedure to produce a piece of porcelain. I didn't find my visit tremendously inspiring."
We enter a small, barren room with a concrete floor. The artist scrambles for chairs for us, and we sit down in a circle. "I had no plans to enter this business when I was young," he says. "I wanted to be a pilot. I took a test a couple of times but realised flying warplanes is a scary business. Someone told me it was a shame I didn't consider entering the ceramics industry. I was surprised he saw it that way, but my father was a ceramic material producer, so I guess the idea wasn't alien to me.
I lived in Kyushu in southern Japan at that time, where there is a famous production area in Arita. I went there to have a look at the factories. Their work consisted of filling molds with clay and firing it, then removing the mold. Rinse and repeat. It's the basic procedure to produce a piece of porcelain. I didn't find my visit tremendously inspiring."
My father recommended me to visit the Ishoken Ceramic school here in Tajimi. So I did, and was surprised to find a great variety of teachers. Some were into product design, while others worked with pure ceramic art. I entered the school, spent two years there, and had many opportunities to listen to their conversations. It was fascinating to hear people of totally different backgrounds talk about ceramics. You could listen to someone with a pure researcher's perspective discuss with someone devoted to pure art.
I remember one of my first attempts at making something very well. I guess I was quite playful, and one of the teachers came around and noticed my piece. 'Who made this?' he said in a freighting voice. 'I'm sorry, I did,' I said. 'Well, it's interesting, keep going!', he replied.' For the coming years I worked frantically at making ceramics, commuting between our factory and the school. I worked with my father here, making ceramic material on my free time. I made stuff like you see outside - those yellow things."
I remember one of my first attempts at making something very well. I guess I was quite playful, and one of the teachers came around and noticed my piece. 'Who made this?' he said in a freighting voice. 'I'm sorry, I did,' I said. 'Well, it's interesting, keep going!', he replied.' For the coming years I worked frantically at making ceramics, commuting between our factory and the school. I worked with my father here, making ceramic material on my free time. I made stuff like you see outside - those yellow things."
Works made during Kato's early years as an artist.
I didn't really try to make anything fancy, I just enjoyed seeing things take shape under my hands. I kept on doing it and tried to make larger and larger objects. 'I wonder how big I can make them,' I thought. I would try to make them really big until they collapsed. Was it a form of self-expression? I think so. I had no interest in people's opinions on my work."
I have a straightforward theme for my work," he says and forms a ring with his hands. "I usually start from the basic shape of a circle and see where it takes me. Sometimes the object grows one way, sometimes another. It was the same thing for the piece I made for the [2017 International Competition] here in Tajimi. I had no concept to give a shape. I created the work by the same organic process I have always used during my twenty years as an artist. 'I have made this object this big, now how can I make it even larger?' I say to myself. I try to find a way to increase the size without the piece collapsing. This is how I work, nobody influences me. Yes, in the beginning, I was fascinated by what some of the Ishoken instructors created. But then I realised it is more fulfilling to express yourself than trying to imitate others."
"You'll find a lot of strange objects by the road," Kato said. "That is where my factory is."
Takata is a village with a long history of pottery making. Could that have influenced Kato in some way? "I feel it has, but not in the way you might think," he smiles. My forefathers made Shino ware here four hundred years ago. I am not trying to follow their footsteps, but I am very aware of this heritage. I was always curious about how the ancient potters used glazing and how they accomplished certain effects. It's fascinating to see the glazing and the ceramic material change during firing. The crockery shrinks, cracks open, all kinds of changes are going on. It's a great source of inspiration."
Kato seems to prefer round, swelling shapes in his designs. Why, we wonder. "You might think they are an artistic preference of mine, but in reality it has more to do with physics. Round shapes make it possible to build large objects. Well, there are other reasons too, of course. Clouds, for example, fascinate me. I saw the strange shapes clouds can take seen from above, and began to create pieces with a wavy form. But you still have to obey physics to keep the piece from collapsing." He takes a pen and draws a shape on the floor. "If you make a shape like this [to the left in the below image] it will easily collapse, but if you make it like this one [to the right] it will hold together.":
"If you make a shape like this [to the left] it will easily collapse, but if you make it like this one [to the right] it will hold together."
"Think of this as a blueprint for the base of the sculpture. If you build upwards from this, the structure of the piece will be strong and not prone to collapse. Even if you start to branch out horizontally out from the stem after a while, the sculpture will hold together. Now, if you twist the shape while building, the result will be a wavy, organic, snaking structure. That is why my objects look the way they do.
It takes a long time to build one — at least four months from scratch. It took me six months just to finish the basic shape of "Topological Transformation". It then took five months to dry the piece." With such a long production time, mishaps at a late stage are painful. Kato has suffered many setbacks in his creative endeavors. "At one point, I dropped a work from the crane. It crashed down on top of the kiln with a colossal bang and fell apart. Another time I had just finished the firing when I heard a strange, loud thud from inside the kiln. I looked inside and found the object on its side, broken. These accidents will keep coming, but they are part of my creative life."
It takes a long time to build one — at least four months from scratch. It took me six months just to finish the basic shape of "Topological Transformation". It then took five months to dry the piece." With such a long production time, mishaps at a late stage are painful. Kato has suffered many setbacks in his creative endeavors. "At one point, I dropped a work from the crane. It crashed down on top of the kiln with a colossal bang and fell apart. Another time I had just finished the firing when I heard a strange, loud thud from inside the kiln. I looked inside and found the object on its side, broken. These accidents will keep coming, but they are part of my creative life."
Deep back in a corner in Kato's warehouse we found this broken object. A witness to the many failures he has suffered along the path to success.
Kato has no particular plan in mind when he starts a project. "I just keep working constantly," he says. "If there happen to be a contest deadline coming up when I am finished with a good piece, I apply." The artist has participated successfully in several contests abroad. "I was fortunate enough to win two times at Faenza in Italy. I have also had success in South Korea twice, and once in Taiwan. By contrast, it looks like they do not think much of my work in Japan," he laughs. "The 2017 contest was the first and only time I have won here."
"It looks like they do not think much of my work in Japan", he laughs.
What is the reason for his success abroad? "It seems to me that nobody is doing similar work in other countries," he ponders. "Foreign artists tend to be well educated and trained to start from a concept. When I see their works, I feel they have tried to give shape to an idea. Very few Westerners just let go and create until they arrive at an intriguing form, like I do. Japanese artists are sensitive to the smell of clay, as we say. We enjoy its softness, how it invites to a playful approach to creation. It'l like playing with a living thing. Clay moves not only when you touch it, but also when you fire it. It moves during drying as well."
Very few Westerners just let go and create until they arrive at an intriguing form.
Takata is blessed with a fantastic, bluish clay we use the old fashioned way. Large ceramic makers use ceramic material that they ground in huge machines. It doesn't retain its character. The traditional way is to do this by hand, mixing the earth with water. Bits of the material of various size remain, and they float to the surface in the finished piece. The result is a rough, imperfect surface. It's the kind of imperfection we Japanese strive to achieve."
Could it be that Kato strikes gold not because of perfection, but quite the opposite? I wonder. Maybe, after all, a blemish or two adds interest to art, just like it does to a personality. Maybe personality is just what we need as we go into an age of automated production in all kinds of industries. I, for one, feel this stronger by the day.
Could it be that Kato strikes gold not because of perfection, but quite the opposite? I wonder. Maybe, after all, a blemish or two adds interest to art, just like it does to a personality. Maybe personality is just what we need as we go into an age of automated production in all kinds of industries. I, for one, feel this stronger by the day.
The international Ceramic Festival '21 mino
Friday, September 17, 2021 - Sun October 17, 2021
USD 45,000 to the Competition Winner
'Where Ceramics Go'
Entries should go beyond traditional concepts in a way that is imaginative and inspired-one that opens the door to the future of ceramic arts.
Entries should go beyond traditional concepts in a way that is imaginative and inspired-one that opens the door to the future of ceramic arts.
We interviewed Masamitsu Higuchi, the General Manager at Ceramic Park, about the massive ceramics event that will take place in Tajimi this autumn. The vast Ceramic Park with its museum and exhibition spaces is the main venue for the 12th International Ceramics Festival '21 Mino Japan. The winner of the competition for the 5 million yen (USD 45,000) prize has been decided - the winner is Chinese. Participants submitted traditional ceramic art or "entries that suggest to us more unconventional ideas and explore the future of ceramics." They competed in two categories - art and factory/studio design. The latter category opens an opportunity for factories and studios to participate in the new era for industrial ceramics. It reflects the appearance of products based on new technologies and materials.
Ceramics lovers are now invited to come and see the exhibition in Tajimi.
Ceramics lovers are now invited to come and see the exhibition in Tajimi.
Masamitsu Higuchi, General Manager at the Ceramic Park, the main venue for the 2020 Ceramic Festival
What is different from previous festivals? "Our ambition this time is to engage local industry. That includes companies in the ceramics industry as well as other industries. We want to provide an opportunity for firms in the three cities of Toki, Tajimi, Kani and Mizunami to meet the world. For this reason, the festival will have a broader scope than a pure celebration of ceramic art. We intend to include elements of an industrial fair based on the concept of the Ceramic Valley." Our region, traditionally called Mino, is located in a massive valley with excellent natural resources for ceramics production.
The festival will have a broader scope than a pure celebration of ceramic art. We intend it to include elements of an industrial fair based on the concept of the Ceramic Valley.
"Of course, it will also be an exceptional experience for ceramics lovers," says Higuchi. "Here in Tajimi, for example, the Minoyaki museum, the Mosaic Tile museum and other venues will be open to holders of a pass we plan to provide at a very attractive price. It will cover not only sites in Tajimi, of course, but also in the neighbouring cities Kani, Toki and Mizunami.
Tajimi City has just released this promotional video to increase awareness of what visitors can experience.
The Ceramic Park MINO is located in Tajimi, a 40 minutes train ride from Nagoya, Japan
"One important goal is internationalisation and greater access to the region for foreigners. We have many ceramic festivals, but they have a local nature. This festival is, on the other hand, an opening for everyone interested in exchange across borders.
Focus is a big problem for us, however. The Ceramic Valley has a vast production capacity and an extensive scope of industries and services. If you ask locals what is the best about the ceramics in this region - Mino ware - they will answer 'everything'. But 'everything' is a concept hard to convey to others. Ceramics industries face enormous challenges for the future. I think we need to return to the starting point for ceramics here and adopt the attitude of the first ventures thousands of years ago. We need to start again with a clean slate. This international festival is a step in that direction. We have worked hard to invite foreigners and hope that many will come. We also hope that some of them will even choose to settle here and start new businesses."
We believe it is essential to not only focus on ceramic art but to have a balanced competition where you can win either on artistic merit or strong innovation.
"About 70 countries were invited to the festival next year. We have about 2,500 entries in the competition so far. The winner - a Chinese ceramist - will receive 5 million yen (approx. USD 45,000). All entries in the two categories competed for this prize, so it is a bit like sumo wrestlers taking on boxers," Higuchi jokes. "We believe it is essential to not only focus on ceramic art but to have a balanced competition where you can win either on artistic merit or strong innovation."
We hope that people will take the time to see other places in the region. There are many beautiful places for sightseeing and experiences in Gifu Prefecture. We believe it will be an opportunity to enjoy our culture.
"We think you will enjoy the design of the main venue," Higuchi says. "It will be a radical step from what we have done before. We also hope that people will take the time to see other places in the region. There are many beautiful places for sightseeing and experiences in Gifu Prefecture. We strongly believe the International Festival will open a unique opportunity to enjoy our culture."
An excellent place to start, it would seem, is to explore the English language resources we have here on discovertajimi.com.
