Takuro Kuwata

Born in Hiroshima in 1981 and currently based in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Kuwata carries on the wabi-sabi aesthetic of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, which celebrates natural forms and the beauty of imperfection. By fusing the traditional with the modern through dialogue with the environment, history, nature, and time, he expands new possibilities for ceramics. He is known for his unique reinterpretation of traditional Japanese ceramic techniquessuch as kairagi, in which the glaze is under-fired to prevent it from fully melting, and ishibase, in which the clay surface appears dotted with small feldspar grains. His works are in public collections the Rubell Collection, the Palm Springs Art Museum, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and have been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally, including New York, Brussels, and London.