Yuki Nara
Porcelain maker
Kanazawa, Japan
Fiery ceramics with precise contours
- Yuki's porcelain vases are hammered, cut, refined, then assembled by hand on the wheel
- His creative approach in ceramics is informed by his architectural background
- He combines traditional techniques and digital technology to bridge past and present
Yuki Nara is part of the 12th generation of the Ohi-yaki tea bowl pottery lineage, which has been active for over 350 years in Kanazawa. He has developed a distinctive body of personal work that reflects a strong design-oriented sensibility. Yuki graduated in architecture at the Tokyo University of Arts and in ceramics at the Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center. His main series, Bone Flower, explores the influence of ancient Jōmon pottery, known for its exuberant, flame-like ornamental forms. Drawing on this unique background, Yuki incorporates computer modelling into his process, producing bold ceramic works in hard white porcelain. These pieces are characterised by sharp, precise contour lines that evoke skeletal structures.
INTERVIEW
My high school commute took me past the Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art every day, which was still under construction at the time. Watching it rise from the ground up inspired me to pursue architecture. My background in this field influences my ceramics today.
Jōmon pottery is the most beautiful expression of a fundamental human desire: the wish to embrace the experience of fire.
My architectural designs are informed by ceramics, just as my ceramic creations draw inspiration from structural forms. This reciprocity allows me to create a conceptual breathing room between the two disciplines.
I believe we are entering an era where the value of human handwork, which is irreplicable in the virtual world, will be increasingly recognised and appreciated.
Yuki Nara
Porcelain maker
Kanazawa, Japan
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Kanazawa, Japan
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
Japanese
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