1 minute read
SHIGEMATSU AYUMI
Ayumi Shigematsu (b 1958) is part of the vanguard generation of highly influential postwar female artists in Japan whose practices are inspired by concepts of female sexuality She studied with Suzuki Osamu (1926-2001) at the Kyoto University of Arts and as pioneer for women in a historically male-dominated pottery industry in Japan, she went on to work as one of few female professors teaching ceramic practice at her alma mater. Having studied with the pioneer of the Sodeisha ceramic movement, her propensity for sculptural rather than functional clay forms reflect key Sodeisha tenets. While Shigematsu’s sculptural forms and artistic process are informed by these core philosophies, she also draws influence from the 1970s, a period of consolidation of many art movements
Shigematsu’s relationship with the clay medium is exceptionally organic: her artistic process follows the tenet that the ceramic form is “found” through its making; she uses weight and gravity of wet clay to guide her hand as she builds the form without any prior planning Her process of making brings attention to the materiality of ceramics and highlights the tactile quality of ceramic production via a meditative, sculpting process involving clay coiling, hand-pinching, and other non-wheel thrown techniques. Her glazes are also intentional and unconventional. She uses a pale, pastel color palette in her sculptures, which goes against an aesthetic convention in Japanese pottery that works of art in clay should reflect the visual properties that clay provides. In other words, she rebels against the notion that “clay should only look like clay.” Shigematsu has indeed emerged as a radical artist who has established a unique and influential artistic practice
