Newsletter – April 2025 | Paris Celebrates Spring

 

 

 

Dear Clients, Dear Friends,

 

 

In conjunction with the major international exhibition "Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen" currently on display at the Portland Japanese Garden in the United States, we invite you to discover an exceptional selection of pieces from the Bizen-yaki tradition at the gallery.

 

For those who haven't been able to come yet, we are presenting several major works from this ancient region at the gallery. Among them:

 

 

1. Tsumiage Vase – Izuru Yamamoto, circa 1990

 

A sculptural piece formed from layers of earth.

Bizen Izuru Yamamoto, born in 1954, Yamamoto explores the limits of shaping with great artistic freedom.

Dimensions: 24 × 25 × 22 cm.

 

 

To learn more, click this link.

 

 

 

 

2. “From the Sea” Vase – Kosuke Kaneshige

 

Son of the great Toyo Kaneshige, Kosuke boldly continues the family legacy.

Kanashike Kosuge

 

This approximately 39 × 38 cm vase evokes a rusty wreck transformed into an organic form emerging from the fire. A perfect example of contemporary Japanese ceramic sculpture.

 

 

To learn more, click this link.

 

 

 

 

3. Vase – Urakami Zenji (1914–2006)

 

A simple, almost archetypal form, marked by flames and mochi, the rounded shapes characteristic of Bizen and created by fire. Urakami Zenji, a 20th-century figure, remains a reference for lovers of simplicity and depth. Dimensions: 21.5 × 10 cm.

 

 

To learn more, click on this link.

 

 

 

 

What is Bizen-yaki?

 

Recognized as one of the Rokkoyō (六古窯), the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan, Bizen is a center of traditional Japanese ceramics that has been active for over 900 years. Its distinctive feature? It has no glaze. The surface of the pieces is entirely shaped by wood firing, often for over ten days, at very high temperatures.

 

The local clay, highly ferruginous, reacts with the fire and ash, producing patterns that are controlled by the potter but also unpredictable. Traces of flame, imprints of rice straw, deposits of charcoal: each piece bears the memory of its time in the kiln.

 

Today, the city of Bizen has nearly 300 active kilns. The tradition is alive. It is renewed. It interacts with sculpture and contemporary art, as evidenced by the works we present in our specialized gallery in Paris.

 

 

 

 

April in Paris...

 

The month of April kicks off in Paris with two unmissable events: PAD Paris and Art Paris, which will be held from April 3 to 7, 2025, at the Tuileries Gardens and the Grand Palais.

 

If you're visiting these leading exhibitions dedicated to 20th- and 21st-century art and design, be sure to cross the Seine to visit the Carré Rive Gauche, like many collectors and interior designers.

 

 

In our gallery, among screens, lacquerware, and basketwork, we present antique ceramics as well as more than 200 pieces of modern and contemporary Japanese ceramics, made between 1900 and 2010, with around thirty new pieces expected this month.

 

 

Among the other pieces on display, for example, is a splendid screen decorated with falcons from the Edo period.

 

 

 

To learn more, click on this link.

 

 

The gallery, located at 23 rue de Beaune, is open Monday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

 

We are located in the Carré Rive Gauche, a historic design and decorative arts district in Paris, a short walk from the Musée d'Orsay and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and directly across from the Louvre.

 

Whether you're visiting Paris for the PAD; Art Paris exhibition or simply looking for a unique piece, we'll be delighted to welcome you.

 

To discover our new acquisitions or to arrange a visit via WhatsApp, please contact us.

 

And follow us on Instagram @Asianartparis