Lucie Rie Exhibition Opens December 26 at the Abeno Harukas Art Museum; Tracing Her Career Through Her Friendships with Leach and Coper

“Lucie Rie: Graceful Vessels Connecting East and West” opens at the Abeno Harukas Art Museum (Abeno-ku, Osaka) on Saturday, December 26, 2026. A retrospective of the Vienna-born potter Lucie Rie (1902–1995), it runs until Sunday, March 7, 2027. Works by Bernard Leach, Hans Coper, Shoji Hamada and others with whom she had ties are also shown, tracing the course of her ceramic work along with her connections with the East, especially Japan. It is the Osaka venue of a touring exhibition with planning cooperation from the National Crafts Museum.

Who was Lucie Rie? A potter who moved from Vienna to London

Rie was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1902 and took up ceramics at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts and Crafts) in Vienna. She won numerous awards at international exhibitions.

In 1938, Rie was forced into exile and moved her practice to Britain. For roughly half a century thereafter, she continued to work in London.

The museum cites as characteristics of her work forms that combine suppleness and tension, a wide variety of vividly colored glazes, and sgraffito and inlay. Presenting works by artists she knew alongside her own, the exhibition explores what Rie learned from the currents of thought of her time.

Why see it now? The first retrospective in Japan in about 10 years

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, the tour’s Tokyo venue, Rie was first introduced in earnest in Japan in 1989, in an exhibition at the Sogetsu Kaikan. Large exhibitions followed in 2010 and 2015. The museum describes this touring exhibition as “the first retrospective in Japan in about 10 years.”

The tour began at the National Crafts Museum (Ishikawa) from September 9 to November 24, 2025. In 2026, it was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum from Saturday, July 4 to Sunday, September 13, and at the Mie Prefectural Art Museum from September 26; Osaka is its fourth venue. The exhibition at the Mie Prefectural Art Museum runs until December 13.

Planning cooperation is provided by the National Crafts Museum, with special cooperation from the Iuchi Collection and the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. The three works pictured on the Abeno Harukas Art Museum’s exhibition page are likewise from the National Crafts Museum’s collection and from the Iuchi Collection on deposit at the National Crafts Museum.

What can be seen? Works shown on the exhibition page

The Abeno Harukas Art Museum’s exhibition page shows images of the following three works.

• “Blue Glazed Bowl,” c. 1980, Iuchi Collection (on deposit at the National Crafts Museum)

• “Bronze Glazed Vase,” c. 1980, Iuchi Collection (on deposit at the National Crafts Museum)

• “Pink Inlaid Small Bowl,” c. 1975–79, National Crafts Museum

As of October 19, the number of works, the list of works and the chapter structure for the Osaka venue had not been posted on the official website. The official page for the tour’s Tokyo venue introduced Rie works such as “Bowl” (c. 1926, private collection) and “Bowl with Lava Glaze” (c. 1980). Also listed were “White Glazed Vase with Fluting” (c. 1976) and “Buttons” from the 1940s–50s (Paramita Museum, Okada Cultural Foundation).

Among related artists, Hans Coper’s “Cycladic Form” (1972, National Crafts Museum) was listed. “Liqueur Glasses” (1929, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto), with form by Josef Hoffmann and decoration by Felice Rix-Ueno, was also introduced. Check the Abeno Harukas Art Museum’s announcements for the works shown in Osaka.

Tickets and prices, with advance tickets until December 25

Same-day tickets cost 1,800 yen for adults, 1,400 yen for university and high school students and 500 yen for junior high and elementary school students. Advance tickets and group tickets (15 or more) cost 1,600 yen for adults, 1,200 yen for university and high school students and 300 yen for junior high and elementary school students. Advance tickets are on sale from Saturday, October 3 to Friday, December 25. Holders of a disability certificate, plus up to one companion, pay half the same-day price (purchase at the museum’s ticket counter).

Advance set tickets include a pair ticket of two adult tickets (3,000 yen, usable on two separate visits). A Lawson Ticket-exclusive “Osaka Venue Exclusive Tote Bag Set Ticket” (2,800 yen, limited to 500 sets) is also available. A set ticket including a pottery workshop (4,500 yen, limited to 40 sets) has sold out.

There is a mutual discount with the special exhibition “Maruyama Okyo: Beyond the Real – A Spatial Revolution,” to be held at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts from Saturday, February 6 to Sunday, April 4, 2027. Showing a ticket (or stub) for the other exhibition gives 100 yen off a same-day ticket for each (once per person; cannot be combined with other discounts). That exhibition is introduced in our article on the Maruyama Okyo exhibition.

Related events, opening hours and access

On Saturday, January 16, 2027, from 14:00 to 15:00, an art lecture held with Harukas University, “Nice to Meet You, Lucie Rie,” will be given by museum curator Shino Yokoyama, for up to 70 people (advance application, first come, first served). Admission is free, but a ticket (or stub) for the exhibition is required. Applications are accepted from 10:00 on Tuesday, November 17, via the Harukas University website, by phone and by other means.

On Saturday, January 23, a workshop in which participants try Rie’s techniques will be led by potter Norikatsu Sato (full member of the Japan Kogei Association). The set tickets that include participation have already reached capacity.

Opening hours are 10:00 to 20:00 from Tuesday to Friday and 10:00 to 18:00 on Mondays, weekends and holidays (last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is closed on Thursday, December 31, 2026 and Friday, January 1, 2027 (national holiday).

The museum is on the 16th floor of Abeno Harukas, reached by dedicated shuttle elevators from entrances on B1 and the 2nd floor. It is about a 2-minute walk from Tennoji Station on the subway Midosuji Line (West Gate) to the shuttle elevators, and about 3 minutes from JR Tennoji Station (Central Gate) and Kintetsu Osaka-Abenobashi Station (West Gate). There is no parking.

Overview

Name: Lucie Rie: Graceful Vessels Connecting East and West
Dates: Saturday, December 26, 2026 – Sunday, March 7, 2027
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10:00–20:00; Mondays, weekends and holidays 10:00–18:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Thursday, December 31, 2026; Friday, January 1, 2027 (national holiday)
Venue: Abeno Harukas Art Museum
Address: Abeno Harukas 16F, 1-1-43 Abenosuji, Abeno-ku, Osaka
Admission: Adults 1,800 yen, university and high school students 1,400 yen, junior high and elementary school students 500 yen (advance and groups of 15 or more: adults 1,600 yen, university and high school students 1,200 yen, junior high and elementary school students 300 yen)
Organizers: Abeno Harukas Art Museum, The Asahi Shimbun, Asahi Television Broadcasting
Planning cooperation: National Crafts Museum
Special cooperation: Iuchi Collection, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
Sponsor: DNP Dai Nippon Printing
Official website: https://www.aham.jp/exhibition/future/lucie_rie/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: from left, Lucie Rie, “Bronze Glazed Vase,” c. 1980, Iuchi Collection (on deposit at the National Crafts Museum); “Blue Glazed Bowl,” 1978, National Crafts Museum; “Pink Inlaid Small Bowl,” c. 1975–79, National Crafts Museum (from a press release by Kintetsu Real Estate Co., Ltd.)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on a press release from Kintetsu Real Estate (July 29, 2026) and information on the official websites of the Abeno Harukas Art Museum and the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team