“Ceramic Resonance” at Bizen City Museum of Art Until December 20; About 100 Contemporary Ceramic Works by 15 Artists from Across Japan

The special exhibition “Ceramic Resonance” is on view at the Bizen City Museum of Art in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, until Sunday, December 20. The special exhibition, marking the museum’s first anniversary, opened on October 10. It shows about 100 ceramic works by 15 artists working in Bizen as well as in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Kanagawa, Gifu, Hyogo, Kagawa and Saga. The “resonance” of the title refers to things resonating and vibrating together. From everyday vessels to objects and works grounded in tradition, the exhibition introduces recent trends in contemporary ceramics and each artist’s expression.

Why now? The first year of a museum reborn from the Bizen Pottery Museum

The Bizen City Museum of Art opened in July 2025 as the rebirth of the long-loved Bizen Municipal Bizen Pottery Museum. It is a one-minute walk from Imbe Station on the JR Ako Line. The press materials describe Imbe in Bizen, where the museum is located, as “a pottery-producing area where tradition lives on.” According to the exhibition page, Bizen ware has a tradition of about 800 years.

For its first-anniversary special exhibition, the museum in this pottery-producing area has turned its attention to contemporary ceramics from across Japan. The press materials explain that the exhibition looks at where contemporary ceramics stands today from the museum’s own perspective and introduces the possibilities and appeal of its expression. Of the 15 exhibiting artists, seven live in Bizen. The other eight are based in various places, from Ibaraki in the east to Saga in the west. The materials also describe the Bizen-based artists as pursuing their own individuality and aesthetic sense while confronting tradition.

What can visitors see? Ceramics by 15 artists in three chapters

The exhibition consists of three chapters.

1. I “Living with Nature, Close to Daily Life”: Introduces artists who make objects and vessels inspired by nature as well as functional ceramics.

2. II “Quiet Impulse”: Takes up expression that challenges the constraints of clay as a material. The exhibition page gives as examples pale, ephemeral “kiln-transformed white porcelain,” an object that treats a girl’s head as a jar, and large animal objects that express a sense of life through cracks in the clay.

3. III “Bizen Now: Expressions of Five Artists”: Introduces five artists who approach Bizen ware, with its tradition of about 800 years, in different ways.

As examples of exhibited works, the press materials list “White Bizen,” which pursues a dignified beauty using pottery stone mined in Bizen; a large cow expressing life through cracks in the clay; dynamic high heels that make use of the strength of Bizen clay; objects inspired by pop culture such as anime and manga; and objects expressing the life of plants in soft colors.

The works shown in images are Hiroko Nakazato’s “Toward the Light” (2026), Sho Fujita’s “White Bizen Water Jar” (2026), Arisa Kayano’s “No Need for Oppression” (2021), Karin Miyamoto’s “Tossed but Not Sunk” (2026) and Reona Hiraide’s “Adam” and “Eve” (2024), all in private collections.

The 15 exhibiting artists are Kiko Ando (Bizen), Arisa Kayano (Bizen), Akari Sato (Gifu), Shikamaru Takeshita (Tochigi), Kenji Takenaka (Bizen), Taro Tabuchi (Kagawa), Jun Nakao (Saga), Hiroko Nakazato (Kanagawa), Miho Norimatsu (Bizen), Mai Hiejima (Bizen), Reona Hiraide (Ibaraki), Sho Fujita (Bizen), Karin Miyamoto (Ibaraki), Hitoshi Morimoto (Bizen) and Yukiko Yamada (Hyogo) (in Japanese syllabary order; regions as listed in the press materials).

Related events: A talk session on wood-kiln firing and gallery talks by the artists

• Talk session “On Wood-Kiln Firing”: Saturday, November 7, 14:00–15:30, 1F Auditorium. Shikamaru Takeshita, Taro Tabuchi and Hitoshi Morimoto take the stage, with museum director Kenji Kaneko and curator Momoko Tanabe as interviewers. Capacity 60 (first come, first served; advance application required). Free, but a ticket for that day is required

• Gallery talks: Kiko Ando and Akari Sato speak on Saturday, November 21 (2F Gallery 1), and Jun Nakao and Sho Fujita on Saturday, December 12 (2F Galleries 2 and 3). Each from 14:00, free (a ticket for that day is required)

• Workshop: Sunday, November 29, a teacup-painting experience with Hiroko Nakazato as instructor. Two sessions, from 14:00 and from 15:45, with 10 people each (first come, first served; advance application required). The fee is 3,000 yen, and a ticket for that day is also required

Application details are provided on the museum’s website. Plans may change or be canceled due to circumstances.

Tickets, prices and access

Admission is 1,000 yen for adults and 800 yen for students (university, vocational school and high school), and free for junior high school students and younger. Visitors aged 65 and over pay 750 yen if they live in Bizen, Ako or Kamigori and 900 yen if they live elsewhere, and must bring something showing their address and age, such as a driver’s license. Group rates for 20 or more are also available. Holders of a physical disability certificate, a rehabilitation certificate or a mental disability certificate (including Mirairo ID) and one caregiver are admitted free.

Opening hours are 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). The museum is closed on Mondays; if Monday is a holiday, it opens and closes on the following weekday instead. There are also temporary closures for exhibition changes and the like. It is a one-minute walk from Imbe Station on the JR Ako Line and a two-minute walk from the “Imbe Ekimae” stop of Uno Bus. There is a dedicated parking lot for six cars on the east side of the museum; when it is full, visitors use nearby parking lots or the temporary lot at the Imbe Community Center. Tour buses use the tour bus parking lot on the west side of Imbe Station.

Editor’s perspective

Marking its first year, a museum in the home of Bizen ware has placed local artists and artists from elsewhere side by side in the same venue. At the talk session on November 7, Hitoshi Morimoto of Bizen is joined by Shikamaru Takeshita of Tochigi and Taro Tabuchi of Kagawa to discuss firing in wood kilns. It looks set to offer clues for comparing contemporary ceramics from inside and outside a pottery-producing area.

Other upcoming ceramics exhibitions include “Kazuo Yagi and His Family” at the Chiba City Museum of Art (from December 9) and the Lucie Rie exhibition at the Abeno Harukas Art Museum (from December 26).

Overview

Name: Special Exhibition “Ceramic Resonance”
Dates: Saturday, October 10 – Sunday, December 20, 2026
Hours: 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Closed: Mondays (if a holiday, open and closed the following weekday); temporary closures for exhibition changes, etc.
Venue: Galleries 1, 2 and 3, 2F, Bizen City Museum of Art
Address: 1659-6 Imbe, Bizen, Okayama
Admission: Adults 1,000 yen, students (university, vocational school and high school) 800 yen, 65 and over 750 yen (residents of Bizen, Ako and Kamigori) / 900 yen (residents of other areas), junior high school students and younger free
Organizers: Bizen City Museum of Art, The Sanyo Shimbun
Inquiries: 0869-64-1400
Official website: https://bizen-moa.jp/exhibition/exhibition-55179/
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Sho Fujita, “White Bizen Water Jar,” 2026, private collection (from a press release by the Bizen City Culture and Arts Promotion Foundation)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Bizen City Culture and Arts Promotion Foundation (August 18, 2026) and information on the Bizen City Museum of Art official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team