Takuro Kuwata

b. 1981

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, 1981; Lives and works in Toki City, Gifu, Japan

Clay constricts when it dries out or is fired in a kiln...its cracks can be regarded as an individuality of the clay. I am attracted to the unique features of firing and clay, and I feel expressions based on their uniqueness are very interesting. — Takuro Kuwata

Artwork

Exhibitions

03.20–04.24.2021
Zungurimukkuri (Roly Poly)
3 E 89th Street

Takuro Kuwata

09.09–10.25.2015
Dear Tea Bowl
S94D

Takuro Kuwata

01.18–02.25.2013
Flavor of Nature
Salon 94 Bowery

Takuro Kuwata

06.23–08.12.2011
Group Show
Salon 94 Bowery

Paul Clay

Biography

Portrait of Takuro Kuwata by Koho Kotake

Takuro Kuwata expands the possibilities and pushes the boundaries of ceramic art by taking on traditional Japanese ceramic techniques such as ‘kairagi’ and ‘ishihaze,’. Kuwata’s studio is situated at the heart of Japanese ceramic artistry in the Mino region of Gifu Prefecture, which retains techniques dating back to feudal Japan. Inheriting the traditional tea-ceremony aesthetic of ‘wabi-sabi,’ his creations celebrate imperfect beauty and natural forms while being firmly rooted within a contemporary discourse. Through dialogue with environment, history, nature, and time, Kuwata fuses together tradition and modernity, bringing into existence provocative works of art.

Takuro Kuwata was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan in 1981, and is currently based in Gifu, Japan. Following his graduation from Kyoto Saga University of Arts in 2001, in 2002 he began studying under ceramic artist Susumu Zaima. In 2007, he graduated from the Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center. His works have been exhibited globally in cities such as Brussels, London, and New York, and he was a finalist for the LOEWE Craft Prize 2018. Kuwata’s works have been acquired by various international public collections including the Rubell Family Collection, the Palm Springs Museum, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

CV

Press

02.28.2020
Jonathan Anderson on an Industry in Flux
Liam Freeman

Vogue

02.28.2020
At Loewe’s Fall 2020 Presentation, Radical Pottery Hides in Plain Sight
Tiffany Jow

Surface

03.20.2019
Takuro Kuwata Interview
Takuhito Kawashima

Apartamento

05.04.2018
Jonathan Anderson and Dame Helen Mirren on the Emotional Importance of Craft
Osman Ahmed

Vogue

05.03.2018
Classical Ceramicist Jennifer Lee Wins the 2018 Loewe Craft Prize
Javier Pes

Artnet

01.01.2018
SHADOWED SPECKLED TRACES, FADING ELIPSE, BRONZE SPECKS, TILTED SHELF
Nicholas Carolan

Grazia

10.02.2017
Takuro Kuwata: Why I Create
Clare Lilley

Phaidon

09.22.2016
Drinking Out of Cups? Eccentric Ceramics Reinvent the Tea Ceremony
Anna Marks

Vice

01.01.2014
Takuro Kuwata
Jeffrey Uslip

Kaleidoscope Asia

01.17.2013
Takuro Kuwata: Breaking the Mold
Erica Bellman

T Magazine