Marymount Sponsoring Ceramic Exhibition at Japan Information & Culture Center

Washington, D.C. , Marymount University is sponsoring the free exhibition, Floating Islands: Ceramic Ikebana Vessels,” which explores how a beloved Japanese tradition is being reinterpreted in the United States. It will run from Aug. 27 through Sept. 27 at the Japan Information & Culture Center, 1150 18th Street NW Suite 100, Washington, D.C. It will move to the District Clay Center from Sept. 29 to Oct. 31. Presented together with District Clay Center and Ikebana International Washington D.C. Chapter No.1, the show will be open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Joe Hicks, an assistant professor of fine art at Marymount, helped organize the exhibit, which will showcase historical Japanese traditions while using American-based artists.

“We’re pretty excited,” Hicks said. “It’s an amazing exhibition that’s going to turn a lot of heads.”

Curated by renowned ceramic artist Akira Satake, the exhibition features ceramic ikebana vessels created by some of the most talented potters working in the U.S., several of whom have lived and studied in Japan. All featured potters, including special guest artist Ken Matsuzaki, a Japanese master potter, share an innate sense of the importance of ma, or negative space, a concept integral to Japanese aesthetics.

Exhibition panels will allow visitors to gain insight into the various traditional techniques of ceramics native to Japan, as well as the principles standard to the schools of Ikebana. Artist statements will invite viewers to explore the unique ways each ceramic artist took inspiration from traditional Japanese aesthetics and evolved it to a personal style.

Three artists from Ikebana International Washington D.C. Chapter No.1 will also exhibit arrangements: Helena Arouca (Sangetsu School), Bruce Wilson (Saga Goryu School), Jane Redmon (Sogetsu School).

The exhibiting ceramists include: Birdie Boone, Peter Callas, Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish, Erica Iman, Jan McKeachie-Johnston, Randon Johnston, Ani Kasten, Simon Levin, Ken Matsuzaki, Sangjoon Park, Tim Rowan, Akira Satake, Jeff Shapiro, Catherine White.

To learn more, visit  https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/exhibits/ikebana2018.html.

Images
Ceramic vessels by Akira Satake