NEW EXHIBITION
Ritual and Renewal: Modern Japanese tea caddies and incense implements
November 20 – December 19, 2025
Open by appointment only
During this winter season, we are delighted to present a curated selection of small works by master Japanese ceramicists, with a focus on ceramic tea caddies (Chaire) and incense ceramics (Koro & Kogo).
We hope that this thoughtful selection offers calm, connoisseurship, appreciation, and enjoyment for you this season.
Whether used as objet d’art or in the Japanese tea ceremony, we warmly invite you to enjoy this winter collection during the festive season! Wishing a very happy early Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.
To learn more and view our online catalogue, click here.
RECENT EXHIBITION
SILENT EARTH
Contemporary Ceramics by Kato Mami
October 23 – November 6, 2025
We are honored to present the first New York solo exhibition of Tokoname-based ceramic artist Kato Mami (b. 1963). Renowned for her innovative glazes, titled “Frost Glaze,” over porcelain vessel forms, Kato’s work invites audiences to contemplate the inner life of vessels, where interior and exterior converge as sites of presence, imagination, and human connection.
Working primarily with porcelain slabs, Kato constructs sculptural vessels that recall glacial terrains, oceanic tides, and distant celestial landscapes. Her meticulous hand-building process—layering, folding, and draping porcelain clay—imbues each work with a delicate balance between fragility and strength.
The exhibition includes a selection of Kato’s celebrated chawan (tea bowls), the forms for which she became the first woman in history to win the Shoroku Chawan Competition in 2015, and the Koie Ryoji prize in the Chouzou Tougei Exhibition, These intimate works translate vast imagined landscapes into vessels that rest in the palm of the hand, their interiors embodying what Kato describes as a “soul-like presence.”
Kato’s achievements have been recognized across Japan, with the Grand Prize at the Mino Ceramics Exhibition (2019) and the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition (2021) among her honors. Beyond accolades, her practice is deeply rooted in an exploration of time, memory, and universality. “I seek forms that transcend time,” she reflects, “silent presences that radiate a sense of universal beauty.”
This milestone exhibition for the artist offers New York audiences the rare opportunity to meet the artist and experience the depth of Kato’s vision through a curated collection of her latest work: vessels as sanctuaries of acceptance, imagination, and connection. She states: “I believe the inner space of a chawan (mikomi)— the part that holds something, yet feels full even when empty—is essential. It’s not just empty space, but a space filled with a kind of presence, like a soul.
This spatial richness is a fundamental theme not only for tea bowls, but for all vessels. The inclusive nature of a vessel feels maternal in a way—accepting, embracing everything. Through making this piece, I was able to embrace myself, too—to reach into its depths and, in doing so, accept and forgive parts of myself I find hard to face. There is a mutual vector at work: between the maker and the object.”
We had the honor of hosting the artist to with meet guests, collectors, and fans of her work on the following days:
- Thursday, October 23, 2025 | 4-7pm
- Sunday, October 26, 2025 | 1-4pm
- Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 2-4pm
- Wednesday, October 29, 2025 | 2-4pm
We are so grateful for the warm reception Kato Mami received in New York during her stay here.
Please note that Kato Mami is also teaching a Slab Building Workshop at Peters Valley School of Craft in New Jersey from October 31–November 2, 2025. There are a very limited number spots remaining! This is a rare opportunity to learn from a highly skilled artist from Japan. Visit Peters Valley School of Craft’s website here for full details and registration.
To learn more and view the online catalog, click here.
RECENT ASIA WEEK NEW YORK AUTUMN EXHIBITION
Mavericks: Three Masters of Modern Japanese Ceramics
September 11 – 19, 2025
We are honored to present a three person show of works by Kawamoto Goro, Koinuma Michio, and Tsuboshima Dohei on the occasion of Asia Week New York Autumn 2025 this September.
Koinuma Michio, Tsuboshima Dohei, and Kawamoto Goro are three singular voices in Japanese ceramics, each celebrated for their technical virtuosity and expansive creative range. The three artists emerged during a time when the idea of a ceramicist was being challenged: by identifying themselves as individualistic artists, these three figures were part of a generation that elevated the vessel form into high art in Japan, expanding the ceramic category in the latter half of the 20th century.
What unites them is a distinct, shared spirit of innovation and an avant-garde sensibility grounded in a respect for time, history, and tradition. Both Koinuma Michio and Tsuboshima Dohei began their professional lives in the fields of finance and economics before turning to clay. Their ceramic works defy easy categorization. These are vessels that function as both sculptural forms and utilitarian objects, imbued with presence. Their sensitivity to material and form reflects an ongoing process of discovery shaped by a respect for historical precedent and Japanese craftsmanship.
About the artists:
Tsuboshima Dohei, a student of the influential potter and art collector Kawakita Handeishi, displays a rare and distinctive virtuosity. His work is exhibited in a dedicated museum in Japan next to Kawakita’s former residence, underscoring his artistic importance. With a background in Chinese painting, Tsuboshima developed a highly eclectic style. He created works ranging from Oribe and Shino-glazed Mino ware, to expressive porcelain painted with Aka-e designs featuring phoenixes, flora, and other traditional motifs. His work resists definition by a single technique, reflecting the spirit of an independent artist who prioritized creative freedom.
Kawamoto Goro, like Tsuboshima, studied Chinese painting extensively. This influence is evident in their approach to surface decoration. Painterly and expressive, their brushwork animates the ceramic form with a sense of fluidity and elegance. Gestural and often figurative, these surfaces create a dynamic interplay between image and shape.
Koinuma Michio came to ceramics through archaeology. His surfaces suggest ancient, timeworn relics, as if unearthed from a long-forgotten civilization. At the same time, his forms are unmistakably modern. His work blends anachronism with otherworldly expression. From dog sculptures to objects that evoke archaic Chinese bronzes and early Japanese Jōmon-period forms, Koinuma’s ceramics defy classification and engage with time on multiple levels.
While Kawamoto and Tsuboshima explore the expressive and pictorial possibilities of surface, Koinuma focuses on form. He challenges sculptural conventions and extends the material potential of clay, creating works that blur the boundaries between vessel and sculpture. For the Fall 2025 edition of Asia Week New York, we are honored to present the work of these three visionary potters who prioritized artistic discovery and exploration. Each one is a master of form, surface, and conceptual depth, and their works reflect an essential part of Japanese ceramic modernism.
Discover more about the historical, technical, and conceptual significance of their work, in our 90-page exhibition catalog featuring new essays by Japanese art scholars and specialists Kazuko Todate and Daniel McOwan here.
To learn more, click here.
New Online Shop
In our ongoing mission to share the beauty of Japanese ceramics with collectors, connoisseurs, and curators, we are delighted to announce the launch of a new section on our website: an online shop. Here, you’ll find a curated selection of small artworks, each available for $1,000 or less. Thoughtfully chosen to bring art into everyday life, these works offer an accessible way to discover and collect Japanese ceramics.
We warmly invite you to explore the collection and find the piece that resonates with your home, spirit, and daily rituals.
To start browsing, click here.
Latest Acquisitions
View our latest acquisitions of modern and contemporary Japanese ceramics online. Since our beginning in 1989, we have been focused on highlighting museum-quality Japanese ceramics to the contemporary art scene in New York City. The gallery has introduced pieces to the permanent collections of several major museums including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Indianapolis Art Museum, The Princeton University Art Museum, and many more.
Our mission is to bring the timeless grace of modern classics, 20th and 21st century Japanese ceramics, to the world by providing leading expertise to collectors, working with established & emerging artists, and showcasing inspiring exhibitions. We strive towards compassionate and bespoke services to our clientele which includes connoisseurs, collectors, curators, interior designers, and more. We work to connect an international audience to the heart of museum-quality Japanese ceramics & ceramic art.
View them all here.
About the Gallery
Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd. is a fine art gallery specializing in modern Japanese ceramics. Since 1989, we’ve focused on featuring significant ceramic works in New York’s contemporary art scene, contributing pieces to major museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Princeton University Art Museum, and more. We are committed to providing authoritative expertise to collectors, liaising with artists, and showcasing inspiring exhibitions and artworks. We welcome you to contact us for more information.
