Takiguchi Kazuo

Born in 1953 in Gojō-zaka Kyoto, Takiguchi Kazuo is the son of a tableware wholesaler in Gojōzaka, Kyoto, the center of traditional Kyoto ceramics production. After dropping out of university twice, he studied briefly with Kiyomizu Rokubei VI (1901-1980), then with Yagi Kazuo (1918-1979). He also frequented Kondō Yutaka (1932-1983) and Fujihira Shin (1922-2012). It was Yagi’s aesthetic and his emphasis on non-traditional sculptural forms that had a lasting impact on Takiguchi.

Years later, he also studied at the Royal College of Arts in London, graduating in 1992. While living abroad, he realized the important role that the Japanese language played in his life and the impact it had on his artistic work. Since then, he has focused on words as a source of inspiration. The artist emphasizes that, just as he is free to use language according to his own desires and needs, he strives to give each work its own unique presence. It is important to him that his works touch the hearts of viewers outside the context of functionality.

His sculpting process is both complex and highly creative. Using pulleys, he first flattens a sheet of finely ground clay between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick and spreads it onto a canvas. Using pulleys, he then hoists it up and suspends it in the air, molding it into the amoebic shape he desires. When the clay body is dry enough to hold its shape, he cuts a hole in the top. His ambitiously abstract forms have made him one of the standard-bearers of contemporary Japanese ceramics.