Soaring Voices: Recent Ceramics by Women from Japan
Summary | Specifications | Tour Schedule | Images | Installations | Press | Checklist (PDF)
For thousands of years, women in Japan have been involved in the production of ceramics, but with few exceptions their names have been unknown. This exhibition showcases through 87 works by 25 women artists, contemporary interpretations of a traditional art form through a range of motifs inspired from the natural world: plants, shells, mountains, rivers and the play of light and shadow. Other sources of inspiration pay tribute to Japan such as the dance movements in the Noh Theater and kimono patterns of the Edo Period, shown on these ceramic vessels. A social commentary is put forth throughout the works, whether it is beauty defined or an exploration between East and West.
A catalogue produced by the Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art of the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park accompanies the exhibition. Reinforcing the purpose of this tour, the catalogue includes a substantial essay section, written by Louise Cort, curator for ceramics of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, and other highly recognized curators, explaining why an exhibition of this nature that recognizes Japanese women ceramicists takes place at this time.
The Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, organized and debuted the exhibition in collaboration with hus-10, Inc., Tokyo, Japan. The exhibition traveled to the New Otani Art Museum, Tokyo, and Shizuoka Art Gallery, Shizuoka, Japan in 2008 and the Musée National de Céramique in Sèvres, France in 2009 before traveling to the US.
The exhibition was generously supported in part by the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and the S&R Foundation.
Specifications:
| Number of Works: | 87 ceramic works by 25 women artists |
| Curator: | Hiroko Miura, curator, The Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan along with Maya Nishi, curator, hus-10, Inc. |
| Organized by: | The Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan |
| Approximate size: | 4000 square feet |
| Security: | Moderate security |
| Fee: | $35,000 |
| Shipping: | IA&A makes all arrangements; exhibitors pay outgoing shipping costs within the contiguous US |
| Booking Time: | 8 weeks |
| Tour: | August 2009 - September 2012 |
| Publication: | Exhibition catalogue |
| Contact: | Margalit Monroe |
Tour Schedule:
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
August 8, 2009 - October 10, 2009
The Katzen Arts Center at American University, Washington, DC
June 15, 2010 - August 15, 2010
Center for Visual Art at Metropolitan State College of Denver, Denver, CO
September 9, 2010 - October 30, 2010
The Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, TX
January 22, 2011 - May 8, 2011
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Delray Beach, FL
June 21, 2011 - October 2, 2011
The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
October 15, 2011 - December 31, 2011
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ
January 25, 2012 - March 3, 2012
Western Gallery at Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
March 23, 2012 - May 20, 2012
City Arts Center, Oklahoma City, OK
June 12, 2012 - August 25, 2012
Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Kahului, HI
October 20, 2012 - December 31, 2012
Summary | Specifications | Tour Schedule | Images | Installations | Press
