Shoji Hamada
(Japanese, 1894–1978)
Biography
Shoji Hamada was a Japanese ceramicist and an important member of the mingei folk-art movement. His simple designs convey an elegant beauty, focused on utility as much as aesthetic. “Even a bad pot has some use, but with a bad painting there is nothing you can do with it except throw it away,” Shoji once said. Born on December 9, 1894 in Tokyo, Japan, he was trained in pottery at Tokyo Technical College. While in school, he visited an exhibition of ceramic art that deeply impressed him. The show he saw, included the work of a British ceramicist named Bernard Leach. Shoji befriended Leach, and later accompanied him back to St. Ives, United Kingdom. After three years living and working in St. Ives, he returned to Japan to establish his own studio in the town of Mashiko. Notably, his studio only used locally sourced clay, and made glazing brushes from the hair of neighborhood dogs. In 1955, the Japanese Minister of Culture declared him a “Living National Treasure.” The artist died on January 5, 1978 in Mashiko, Japan. Today, Shoji’s works are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Shoji Hamada Artworks
Shoji Hamada
HAMADA Shoji. Square plate in white and black...
Sale Date: July 7, 2023
Auction Closed
-glaze.jpg "HAMADA Shoji. Plate in black and namako(sea...")
Shoji Hamada
HAMADA Shoji. Flask with blue line in persimmon...
Sale Date: July 7, 2023
Auction Closed
Shoji Hamada
HAMADA Shoji. Square jar in white and black glaze
Sale Date: July 7, 2023
Auction Closed
.jpg "HAMADA Shoji. Sake cup with circular design in...")
Shoji Hamada
HAMADA Shoji. Sake cup with circular design in...
Sale Date: July 7, 2023
Auction Closed
Shoji Hamada
HAMADA Shoji. Vase with pattern in white glaze...
Sale Date: July 7, 2023
Auction Closed
Shoji Hamada
HAMADA Shoji. Handled jar in white and persimmon
Sale Date: July 7, 2023
Auction Closed
Shoji Hamada
HAMADA Shoji. Hexagonal vase in black and iron...
Sale Date: July 7, 2023
Auction Closed
-glaze.jpg "Plate in black and namako(sea cucumber coloured)")
Shoji Hamada
Plate in black and namako(sea cucumber coloured)
Sale Date: July 7, 2023
Auction Closed
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