ARTIST

Takahiro Kato

INFORMATION

Takahiro Kato -saudade-

May 19th (Mon) - May 31st (Sat), 2025

Artist in the gallery: May 19th (Monday), 20th (Tuesday), 24th (Saturday), 25th (Sunday), May 31st (Saturday)

*Please contact us for other dates.

Artist Talk/Closing Reception: May 31st, 3:00 PM - No reservations required

ATSUHIKO SUEMATSU GALLERY will be holding a solo exhibition by Takahiro Kato, [saudade], from May 19th to 31st, 2025.

Takahiro Kato, a true ceramic artist, still uses a large amount of firewood to fire each bowl while surrounded by clay and flames.

He puts a lot of effort into the shape, pours his heart and soul into the expression, and in the end, the flames decide where it all ends up.

The artist describes it as prayer.

Things offered to God are called sacred objects, and it is not difficult to imagine that for the artist, objects in the form of vessels would be such objects.

His works, backed by his extensive knowledge and experience of ceramics and many years of challenge, show a wide variety of expressions without losing a certain dignity.

His interests extend beyond pottery, and he has explored the world and come into contact with the cultures of many regions.

He places great importance on words, poetry, music, literature, and the interactions he has with people through these, and all of these experiences come down to what he can put into a single bowl.

The theme of this exhibition, "saudade," is an extremely poetic and delicate word that originates from Portuguese and cannot be accurately translated into other languages.

Generally, it expresses "nostalgia for something lost" or "a wistful longing for something that will never return," but also includes positive feelings and complex emotions about the future.

We poured our heart and soul into the production right up until the very last moment, and the full picture of the piece is finally beginning to come into view.

We apologize for the late timing in announcing this, but we have a wonderful selection of works on display.

Please be sure to visit during the event.

We have new tea bowls, sake cups, and flower vases on offer, so we look forward to seeing you.

Exhibition cooperation: RICH&MIYU

Takahiro Kato

Born in Nagoya in 1972. In 1994, he traveled overland from Xian and Dunhuang in China to Urumqi, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe, before spending about a year in Granada, Spain, where he studied languages and art.

After returning to Japan, he started making pottery at Shigetaka Pottery Studio, and has since held solo exhibitions all over the country.

His major exhibitions include the Japan-India Cultural Exchange Exhibition (India, 1998) and the Contemporary Japanese Ceramics: Reception and Transmission Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, 2003).