Masayasu Mitsuke

Masayasu Mitsuke was born in Kaga, Ishikawa and bases in Kaga. After graduating from Ishikawa Prefectural Kutani Ware Technical Research Institute, he studied under Buzan Fukushima and obtained Kutani’s traditional techniques of red painting on ceramics.

Red painting (Aka-e) is painted in iron oxide. It originated in Song Dynasty period in China and got introduced to Japan later on. However it developed its decoration in Imari, Kyoto and Kutani before becoming the present form. Mitsuke paints human figures, flowers and birds following the traditional Aka-e style, and in contrast his designs and patterns with delicate line drawing are unique and distinctive. His magnificent technique needs no saying, but moreover he succeeds in achieving unprecedented overall image by skillfully using Youraku and Shippoumon, the patterns that have been passed down since ancient times. This trend is especially remarkable in painting large plates. They make good uses of the center of the plate and they seem to reach a goal of Kutani Ware.

Biography
1975 Born in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
1997 Graduated from Ishikawa Prefectural Kutaniyaki Technical Training Institute; studied under Kutani master Fukushima Takeyama
Currently based in Kaga, Ishikawa

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2022 Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo
2021 Shibuya Kuroda Touen, Tokyo
2016 Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo
2009 Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo
2007 Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo
2017 Shibuya Kuroda Touen, Tokyo

Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 1st Kanazawa World Craft Triennale, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
2011 REVALUE NIPPON PROJECT – Contemporary Ceramics Encounter with Hidetoshi Nakata, Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Japan
2012 Craft Futurism, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
2015 LOGICAL EMOTION – Contemporary Japanese Art Exhibition, Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland (touring)
2015 japanese kougei/future forward, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
2016 REVALUE NIPPON PROJECT, Panasonic Shiodome Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2017 Craft Futurism: Craft Bridge, EYE OF GYRE, Tokyo, Japan
2018 Analyzing Ceramics – Decoration Edition, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
2019 Keizan Collection: Chawan – Galaxy in the Palm, Okayama Prefectural Museum, Japan
2020 Touching the Intangible, Ginza Pola Museum Annex, Tokyo, Japan
2020 Exceptional Craftsmanship in the Reiwa Era, Panasonic Shiodome Museum, Tokyo (touring
2021 No Man’s Land – The Future of Ceramics, Beyond the Horizon, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
2022 Ceramics for the Future – The Power of Traditional Craft, National Crafts Museum, Ishikawa (touring)
2022 Genreless Craft Exhibition, National Crafts Museum, Ishikawa

Selected Awards
2014 Grand Prize, 9th Paramita Ceramic Art Competition
2016 Ishikawa Design Award
2019 Encouragement Award, 39th POLA Award for Traditional Culture