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Touching Stone Gallery  Santa Fe  New Mexico USA

www.touchingstone.com  Email: director@touchingstone.com

 


Yukiya Izumita
Still Point
April 1 - May 4, 2011
Read 'Still Point' article on this show (Ceramics: Art & Perception, v.91, p.80-83, 2013)
Text only version

 

More by this artist: 2009 show, 2010 show, 2011 show, 2012 show, 2013 show

Yukiya Izumita Show 2011
50% gallery proceeds from this show were donated to Society for Aid & Relief Japan and Japan Red Cross Society for
relief of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami

Still Point - This show is dedicated to help Japan earthquake-tsunami reliefs
Time and the bell have buried the day,
the black cloud carries the sun away.
Will the sunflower turn to us, will the clematis
Stray down, bend to us; tendril and spray
Clutch and cling?
Chill
Fingers of yew be curled
Down on us? After the kingfisher's wing
Has answered light to light, and is silent, the light is still
At the still point of the turning world.

- T.S. Eliot

As the scope and magnitude of the earthquake-tsunami devastation in Japan unfold, we give our condolences to the untold numbers of people affected by this unprecedented tragedy. Our hearts are with them. Our featured artist, award-winning ceramist Yukiya Izumita, lives in the devastated Iwate prefecture. To our relief, he is safe; but there are widespread destruction and suffering in the surrounding areas.

Touching Stone Gallery dedicates Izumita's show 'Still Point' to help Japan earthquake-tsunami reliefs. 50% of the gallery proceeds from this show have been donated to organizations directly involved in disaster reliefs. We thank all our clients for their support of the show and generous contributions to the relief effects.

As if to offer a premonition of the impending disaster, several showpieces entitled "Dune Waves" were damaged in transit from Japan. These works have been fully restored to their pristine original conditions by a museum conservator (Marked as "Restored", full documentations available). They serve as fitting testaments for the occasion.

Yukiya Izumita   泉田之也

The first impression of Yukiya Izumita's work is often one of amazement. One seldom expects to see clay honed to razor-thin edges, torn apart, twisted at impossible angles like giant origami, to create shapes that exude quiet beauty and tension, forms that appear unpolished and at the same time complete. Great technical expertise is required to create such work, which stands out even among the most creative contemporary Japanese ceramics.

Izumita (b. 1966) grew up in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan in an area with high mountains, deep forests and beautiful sea shores. After college, he worked for three years in Tokyo but decided that the populous metropolis was not for him. In 1992, he followed his true calling and returned north to take up an apprenticeship in pottery making under Kokuji-yaki master Gakuho Simodake. In 1995, Izumita established his own kiln in Noda-mura in Iwate Prefecture. In the same year, his innovative work won an Excellence Award in the Nittshin Menbachi Grand Prize Exhibition, the first of a series of prestigious honors which include two Grand Prizes in the 2000 and 2002 Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibitions, and an Excellence Award in the prestigious Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition in 2009.

Beyond the innovative forms and technical brilliance, Izumita's creations are meant to convey deeper meanings. As an artist, Izumita feels a strong connection to nature, especially to the muted colors and roughness of earth in his surroundings. He has a keen sense of the changing seasons, the passage of time, erosion and decay that give texture and character to everything. Izumita has nurtured a strong emotional resonance to the beauty around him, and he wants to share his feelings with others through his ceramic work.

To capture the raw power and beauty of earth, Izumita uses clay from his area, and blends in sand and stones to create a unique clay body with the right combination of resilience and texture. He keeps his forms simple, with purposeful lines and surfaces to convey his visions. He uses both a gas kiln and a wood-fueled kiln for different effects. Glazes are used only to complement his visions, with warm-toned glazes to enhance earthy textures, and cold-toned glazes to evoke water.

The most important element in Izumita's work is hard to define physically: Passage of time is often implicit in each piece, whether it suggests deeply fissured boulders, a dried up and cracked stream bed, or jagged layers of erosion-exposed bedrocks. Like a fulcrum of time teetering between past and future, his creations speak silently of a personal dialog with nature. The conversation is so sensitive and eloquent, one cannot help but hear its echo and feel the artist's emotion, and be moved by it.

 

Click on images to view selected pieces

Inquiry/order: director@touchingstone.com, see Inquiry/Order

 


Touching Stone Gallery is grateful for Yukiya Izumita, who made a heroic effort to ship this show
from his prefecture hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami. These showpieces that did not arrive
until after the show opened have now been added:  Nos. 15, 18, 22, 24, 25, & 25.


 

  Yukiya Izumita Ori no.1Yukiya Izumita Ori no.1

"Ori No.1"
Izumita's award-winning masterpiece in Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition 2009
26" x 22" x 12"h  (2 views)   Restored
Sold



Izumita Waves no.2Izumita Waves no.2

"Dune Waves No.2"
wood-fired ceramic  17.5" x 14.5" x 7"h  (2 views)
Restored   Sold

Izumita Waves no.3Izumita Waves no.3

"Dune Waves No.3"
ceramic sculpture  18" x 15.5" x 7"h  (2 views)  Restored
Sold


Izumita Ravine no.4

"Ravine No.4"
ceramic sculpture  17.5" x 12" x 6"h
Sold


Izumita Waves no.5Izumita Waves no.5

"Dune Waves No. 5"
ceramic sculpture   30.5" x 10.5" x 7.5"h(2 views) Restored 
Sold


Izumita Infinity no.6Izumita Infinity no.6

"Infinity No. 6"
ceramic sculpture   7" x 7" x 4"h  (2 views)
Sold

Izumita Let Go no.7Izumita Let Go no.7

"Letting Go" No.7
ceramic sculpture   13.5" x 10.5" x 4.5"h  (2 views)
Sold



Izumita Ori Vase no.8Izumita Ori Vase no.8

"Ori Vase No.8"
wood-fired ceramic vase form  9" x 9" x 7"h  (2 views)
   Sold


Izumita Ori Covered Jar no.9Izumita Ori Covered Jar no.9

"Ori Jar No.9"
wood-fired ceramic jar w/ lid  9.5" x 7" x 6.5"h  (2 views)
Sold


Izumita Rectangular Vase no.10
"Tower Vase No.10"
wood-fired ceramic vase form  5.5" x 6" x 15.5"h  (2 views)
Sold


Izumita Layered Vase no.11Izumita Layered Vase no.11
"Stratum No.11"
wood-fired ceramic vase form  4" x 3.5" x 11.5"h  (2 views)
  Sold



Izumita Geometric Vase no.12Izumita Geometric Vase no.12
No.12 "Round the Corner"
wood-fired ceramic vase form  11" x 7.5" x 16"h  (3 views)

Sold



Izumita Obi 13 

"Obi No.13"    5-piece composite ceramic sculpture  31" x 7.5" x 4"h  (3 views) 
Sold
Izumita_13aaIzumita_13c



 
"Stratum No.14"
Ceramic vase form  11" x 3.5" x 10.5"h  (2 views)
   Sold



 
Izumita_15a
"Still Point No.15"
Ceramic sculpture  15" x 12" x 8.5"h  (2 views)
   Sold



Izumita_16b
"Still Point No.16"
Ceramic sculpture  16" x 10.5" x 5"h  (2 views)  Restored 
Sold



Izumita_18aIzumita_18c
No. 18  "Quartet"
Ceramic vase form  16" x 5" x 10.5"h  (2 views)
   Sold



Izumita_19aIzumita_19b
No. 19  "Shadows"
Ceramic sculpture  9" x 5.5" x 21"h  (2 views)
Sold

 
Izumita_20b Izumita_20a
No. 20   "Shimmer"
Ceramic vase form  12" x 4" x 7"h  (2 views)
Sold


 
 Izumita_21aIzumita_21c
"Ori Vase No.21"
Ceramic vase form  9" x 9" x 6"h  (2 views)
Sold


 
Izumita_22aIzumita_22b
No. 22  "Still Water" (runs deep)
Ceramic vase form   9.5" x 6" x 5.5"h  (2 views)

   Sold


Izumita_23a Izumita_23b
"Delta No.23"
Ceramic vase form  10" x 7.5" x 4"h  (2 views)
Sold
 

Izumita_24bIzumita_24a
No. 24  "Within/Without"
Ceramic box   8" x 3.5" x 6.5"h  (2 views)

   Sold



Izumita_25aIzumita_25b
Izumita_26aIzumita_26b
No. 25  "Time Past"
Ceramic bowl   5" x 5" x 3.5"h  (2 views)

   Not for sale

No. 26  "Time Present"
Ceramic bowl   5" x 5" x 3.5"h  (2 views)

   Sold

Izumita_Bowl27aIzumita_Bowl27b
No. 27  "Time Future"
Ceramic bowl   4.5" x 4.5" x 3.5"h  (2 views)

Sold

Yukiya Izumita show in Touching Stone Gallery Santa Fe

Yukiya Izumita's show in Touching Stone Gallery, Santa Fe
Ceramic masks by Ryo Mikami from his Mujo show
Yukiya Izumita Show Touching Stone Gallery Yukiya Izumita Show Touching Stone Gallery Yukiya Izumita Show Touching Stone Gallery

Solo Exhibitions
1996   Tanaka-ya, Hirosaki
1999   Kawatoku-kyubu, Morioka (5 times since 1999)
2000   Miharu-ya, Hachinohe (3 times since 2000)
2003   Ginza Renga Garo, Tokyo (4 times since 2003)
          Gallery Anri, Nagoya (2 times since 2003)
2004   Gallery Oiso, Kanagawa
          INAX Tile Museum, Tokoname
          Gallery Kaze-no-Kura, Yamagata (3 times since 2004)
2005   Miharu-do Gallery, Tokyo (3 times since 2005)
2006   Gallery Takubo, Sendai
          Gallery Kyoeigama, Tokoname
2007   Mumon-an Gallery, Tokyo
          Mitsukoshi Department Store, Sapporo
          Keio Department Store, Tokyo
2008   Mitsukoshi Department Store, Sendai
2009   Gallery Tourou, Nagoya
          Mitsukoshi Department Store, Sapporo
          Touching Stone Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
2010  Takashimaya Department Store, Okayama
          Mitsukoshi Department Store, Sapporo
          Touching Stone Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
2011   First Contemporary Kogei Art Fair, Tokyo International Forum
          Touching Stone Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA   

Awards & Honors
1995   Excellence Award, Nittshin Menbachi Grand Prize Exhibition
2000   Grand Prize, 38th Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition
2002   Grand Prize, 40th Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition
2004   Invitational, 22th Asahi Modern Craft Exhibition
2009   Excellence Award, 20th Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition
2011   Invited artist, First Contemporary Kogei Art Fair, Tokyo