Monday 22 October 2007
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Rethinking Bernard Leach: Studio Pottery and Contemporary Ceramics
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
By Edmund de Waal
Published by Shibunkaku
Bernard Leach (1887-1979) has had a great influence on the history of studio pottery in Europe and America. Through both his approach to the making of pots and his writings, he built a unique status in this field. His work shaped many of the discourses in twentieth century ceramics, including the emergence of the individual potter, the genealogy of ethical movements such as the Arts & Crafts and Mingei Movements, the confrontation and cooperation with the artist potters of the art colleges and the activity of the individual potter in a studio or workshop. Leach also helped shape the ways in which Japanese art has been viewed in Europe and America.
The author, Edmund de Waal, is a leading potter and critic in Britain. His historical research in Britain and Japan and his finely considered critique reveals the context of Leach’s life and work. As a whole, this book contains key commentary by two Japanese specialists of this field. It extends the exploration of ceramic art theory and craft theory and will be seen as a major contribution to the study of ceramics.
About the contributors
Professor Edmund de Waal FRSA
Professor Edmund de Waal FRSA is one of the UK’s leading ceramic artists. He studied at Cambridge University before he became one of the first participants in the Daiwa Scholarship programme, during which he was partly based at the Japan Folk Crafts Museum. He subsequently spent a year in Tokyo researching Bernard Leach (Tate Publishing, 1997), the first major appraisal of Leach’s work. He has held major exhibitions of his work at Kettles Yard (2007), the National Museum of Wales (2005), and the New Art Centre (2004). His publications include 20th Century Ceramics (Thames & Hudson, 2003). www.edmunddewaal.com
Kenji Kaneko
Kenji Kaneko is Chief Curator at the Craft Gallery of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. He studied at Tohoku University before becoming a curator at the Suntory Museum, Tokyo. He subsequently held the post of researcher at the National Museum of Modern Art and then at the Ministry of Culture. His curatorial projects include those on Kumakura Junkichi, Miwa Jusetsu and Okabe Mineo. His publications include Gendai Togei no Zokei Shiko (The Formative Theory of Contemporary Ceramics; Abe Publishing, 2000) and Ningen Kokuho no Waza to Bi (The Art and Beauty of Living National Treasures; Kodansha, 2004). www.momat.go.jp
Professor Toshio Watanabe
Professor Toshio Watanabe (chair) is Director of the Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN) Research Centre at the Chelsea College of Art and Design. He studied at Sophia University and the University of Basle, where he completed his PhD. He has published widely on the influence of Japan on British artists, including ‘Britain: From Gothic Revival to Japanese Gardens’, in Introduction to Japonisme (Shibunkaku Shuppan, 2004) and (with Yuko Kikuchi) ‘The British Discovery of Japanese Art’ in The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations 1600-2000, vol.5 (Macmillan, 2002). His current research is focused on transnational interactions of art, with an emphasis on the issue of modernity and identity. www.transnational.org.uk