AKIKO HIRAI Still Life
AKIKO HIRAI Still Life 6 - 30 November 2013
Still Life bottles, 2013, stoneware, 12.5 to 31 cms high £55 - £90 each
Akiko Hirai Still Life www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/akikohirai Akiko Hirai was born in Japan in 1970. She moved to London in 1999, studying ceramics at the University of Westminster and Central St. Martins. Akiko’s work is a cultural blend of both Japanese and British studio pottery traditions, resulting in asymmetrical, ‘imperfect’ organic forms. The exhibition includes several still life groups of bottle forms in white, black and grey, alongside sensitively rendered domestic pieces, in stoneware and porcelain.
“In this exhibition my still life pieces act as the core of the show. Classical painters transformed objects into a ‘view.’ Tea masters discovered a ‘view’ from good chawan made by an anonymous potter. I find beauty in everyday objects and I try to create my own ‘view’ or still lifes. I work with different coloured clay, and when these coloured clays are fired, I find that the true nature breaks through the surface, building up subtle areas of colour. The dark clay contains many impurities and when fired in the kiln, a chemical trace of events alters the clay body. White, on the other hand, is more stable because it has a purer clay body and the whiteness becomes more intense after firing. The finished surface is my main concern.”
Still Life bottles, 2013, stoneware, 14 to 24 cms high ÂŁ55 - ÂŁ75 each
Still Life bottles, 2013, black clay, 14.5 to 31 cms high £55 - £90 each
Matt Kohiki Flower, Dobin Teapot, 2013 23 h x 12 d cms ÂŁ160
Ash, Dobin teapot, 2013, 23 h x 13 d cms ÂŁ160
Small white moon jar with a splash of wood ash, 2013, 29 h x 25 d cms ÂŁ450
Ash, Dobin teapot, 2013, 13 h x 14 d cms ÂŁ160
Plate, 2013, 33 cms diameter ÂŁ150
Plate, 2013, 33 cms diameter ÂŁ150
Sake Bottle, 2013, 13 h x 9.5 d cms £80 Sake Cup, 2013, 5 h x 5 d cms £60 each
Kohiki sake set (round), 2013 Bottle: 13 h x 14 d cms Cup: 5 h x 5 d cms ÂŁ160
Sake Bottle, 2013, 13 h x 9.5 d cms £80 Sake Cup, 2013, 5 h x 5 d cms £60
Kohiki sake set (faceted), 2013 Bottle: 12 h x 6.5 cms Cup: 5 h x 5 d cms ÂŁ130
Industrial vase, black part II, 2013, 37 h x 7.5 d cms ÂŁ190 each
‘Sea Shore’ Teabowl, Terayama series, 2013, 7 h x 14 d cms £200
Still life cereal bowl, 2013, 8 h x 12.5 d cms ÂŁ50
Still Life bottles, 2013, stoneware, 12.5 to 31 cms high ÂŁ55 - ÂŁ90 each
AKIKO HIRAI CV Education
2002-2003 BA (Hons) Ceramic Design, London London Institute, Central Saint Martins 2000-2002 University of Westminster BA(Hons) Ceramics,1st and 2nd year 1989-1993 Bachelor of Letters, Aichi Gakuin University, Japan Major: Cognitive Psychology EMPLOYMENT IN RELATION TO CERAMICS Since 2012 Since 2007 2003
Head of Ceramics at Kensington and Chelsea College, London Lecturer at Kensington & Chelsea College, London Joined ‘The Chocolate Factory’ studios and set up Akiko Hirai Ceramics, London
SELECTED RECENT EXHIBITIONS 2013 Moon Jar, Korean Cultural Centre, London Young Clay, Keramiekcentrum Tiendschuur, Holland Akiko Hirai 10 Years On, CPA Gallery, London 2012 The Salon NY, Modern Gallery, New York, USA Akiko Hirai Solo Exhibition, New Craftsman, St. Ives Broken ceramic pieces mended, Charity Now and Future, London by Yoko Ono
Matt faceted Yunomi, 2013, 7.5 h x 8.5 d cms ÂŁ45 each