One fascinating aspect of MAEDA’s work is that despite participating in the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition, that has been held for over 50 years, he continues to go his own way, breaking down the divisions that exist between craft and art. He has also produced a totally new form of the Tea Ceremony through the creation of utensils, such as tea bowls and water jars, earning a reputation as one of the most noteworthy contemporary artists to work within the rigidly conventional world of Japanese traditional crafts.

Striped patterns reminiscent of textiles, painting-like designs applied using delicate, colored lines, brightly colored contemporary forms in deep blue or green, or rich gold or silver; born in 1948 in Kumihama, Kyoto, MAEDA Masahiro is a potter who has ushered in a completely new form of ceramics. He initially wanted to become a painter, but then moved on to ceramics, becoming a finalist in the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition and graduating in ceramics from the graduate school of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1975. In the 36 years since then, he has shown his uniquely creative works in the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition every year.

In Japan, Kutani- and Arita-ware are the most famous for multicolored porcelain, but MAEDA does not like the thick, shiny colors of Japanese overglaze decoration, instead, he uses Western overglaze enamels which have lower glass content, applying them like paints to canvas to achieve a beautiful matte texture. In recent years, he has developed a unique technique to establish his striped and checkered styles.

He uses a white porcelain base that is fired at a temperature of 1260º C (2,300º F), then covers this with black enamel and refires it to create a black base. He applies numerous thin strips of paper tape to the black surface, adds overglaze enamel and fires it, repeating this process numerous times with different colored enamels, until he has used 4,000 strips of tape and fired each work 6-7 times. He is a true master craftsman and the finished result consists of multiple layers of colored lines resembling woven textile.

Over the years he has received many awards and his works are in the collections of museums around the world, but this year he received the prestigious Japan Ceramic Society Award. The exhibition at Ippodo Gallery New York will consist of approximately 35 works, including new water jars, pots, tea bowls, vases, etc., comprising an exhibition where you will be able to enjoy both a new form of ceramic beauty and the fun of the tea ceremony.