Miwa Kyusetsu Xiii

Miwa Kyusetsu XIII is highly acclaimed for his style that incorporates dynamic and innovative sculptural forms while carrying forward the legacy of Hagi ware ceramics by using the traditional white Hagi glaze adopted by the Miwa family. Being the third son of Miwa Kyusetsu XI (Miwa Jusetsu), combined with his time abroad studying in the West Coast during the 1970s, where he experienced first hand avant garde developments in ceramics, afforded him great artistic freedom that manifests in his bold, thought provoking approaches to ceramics and art in general. He has continued to foster this sensibility since his return to Hagi and as the current bearer of the family mantle as Miwa Kyusetsu XIII. His dynamic and elegant work combining the unglazed surface of the clay cut out using a Japanese sword and the Hagi glaze evoke the majestic beauty and spectacular energy of nature, and continue to awe domestic and international audiences. Miwa Kyusetsu XIII was born in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in 1951 as the third son of Miwa Kyusetsu XI (Miwa Jusetsu). He began his studies abroad at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1975. Since returning to Japan, he has continuously created distinctive work that transcends traditional Hagi ware ceramics at the family pottery, Fusoan Miwagama, and assumed the family title in 2019. He has presented major solo exhibitions, including “Permanental Destruction” (Gallery Ueda, Tokyo, 1987), “Dreams in White” (Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, Tokyo, 1991), “SETSUREI – The Succession of MIWA KYUSETSU XIII” (touring exhibition in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagoya, 2019), “Being a pioneer of expression – The ceramic works of Miwa Kyusetsu XIII (Miwa Kazuhiko)” (Hagi Uragami Museum, Yamaguchi, 2020) and “Miwa Kyūsetsu XIII Creating Forms in Chanoyu” (MOA Museum of Art, Shizuoka, 2023). Notable group exhibitions include “Now, what you see on enormous ceramic artwork?” (Yamaguchi Prefectural Art Museum, 1984), “The World Ceramic Biennale 2005: Trans-Ceramic-Art” (Icheon World Ceramic Center, Gyeonggi, 2005), “Japon-Japonismes, Objets inspirés, 1867 – 2018” (Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 2018), and “Kogei 2020 – The Art of Crafting Beauty from Nature” (Tokyo National Museum’s Hyokeikan Gallery, 2020). Miwa’s works are held in various public collections, including those of the National Crafts Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Hagi Uragami Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was awarded the Japan Ceramic Society Prize in 2007 and the Japan Ceramic Society Gold Prize in 2021.