The Great Karatsu Exhibition

Kaikai Kiki Gallery will host a group exhibition titled “The Great Karatsu Exhibition” over two days, from Saturday, December 13 to Sunday, December 14, 2025, featuring works by 43 ceramic artists.
Below is the full message from the Executive Committee of the Great Karatsu Exhibition and Wataru Mizutani, the exhibition’s representative.

“The Great Karatsu Exhibition” brings together not only artists who continue to create in Karatsu, but also those from other regions, each engaging with the land of Karatsu from their own perspectives. By using materials and history as starting points, we aim to reinterpret and expand the meaning of “Karatsu,” offering a new viewpoint on its place within ceramic art history. The exhibition seeks to shed light on the multilayered nature of Karatsu ware—where the individual and the land, and the past and present intersect—while exploring the questions that emerge through the eyes of participating artists. This undertaking is at the core of “The Great Karatsu Exhibition”.

Wataru Mizutani, the exhibition’s representative, arrived in Karatsu after devoting himself to ceramics while relocating between Mino and Shimane. In Karatsu, he met Yusaku Sakamoto, who had a clay-making business there andgenerously shared his deep knowledge about Karatsu’s native clay and clay preparation methods with him. Deeply moved by Sakamoto’s generosity and the rich quality of the land’s clay, Mizutani decided to take over the clay business when Sakamoto announced his retirement, and committed himself to living and working in Karatsu. Nearly ten years have passed since Mizutani began his activities there.

To support the participating artists in this show, Mizutani spared no effort in providing them with access to Karatsu clay, digging sites, methods of sourcing and refining materials, glaze formulation techniques, and firing in climbing kilns. How did these artists, using the skills inherited from Sakamoto and supported by Mizutani, incorporate “Karatsu” into their own works?
We hope you will enjoy seeing how each artist has interpreted “Karatsu” in their unique way.

— Executive Committee of the Great Karatsu Exhibition

Karatsu ware is founded upon a solid tradition of accumulated techniques and practices by artists who have continued creating while deeply rooted in the land. I believe that within it lies a kind of “margin” or “openness” that defies being confined to conventional forms. Rather than being bound to clearly defined styles, Karatsu is supple and receptive to ambiguity, and that is precisely what defines the true charm of this place. It is in that flexibility that I sense a latent power to once again ask, “What is ceramics?”
I hope The Great Karatsu Exhibition will serve as an opportunity for you to rediscover the allure of Karatsu and the possibilities of ceramic art deeply rooted in this land.

— Wataru Mizutani, Representative of the Great Karatsu Exhibition

Masahiko Ando
Takuma Ito
Ryo Ueyama
Kentaro Umeda
Ryusuke Egashira
Yosei Otsuki
Masafumi Onishi
Koichi Ohara
Sakurei Okamoto
Kazuhiro Kita
Jiro Kumada
Masaya Kondo
Kohei Sakaguchi
Dai Shikai
Masatoshi Shimizu
Calligrapher Rumiko
Hiroto Jo
Shotaro Sudo
Jeon Moonhwan
Go Takagi
Kiminori Takeuchi
Kota Tanaka
Takashi Tanimoto
Hiroshi Tarumi
Cupa
Aya Tsubota
Kazuhiro Tsubota
Potter Junichiro Hayashi
Shingo Toda
Toho
Bond Tominaga
Ichiro Nishizawa
Setsuo Hamasaki
Masahiro Hisatomi
Ryota Hirai
Kazuhiro Fukuda
Takahiro Hosokawa
Michael Martino
Tomomi Mizutani
Wataru Mizutani
Megumireland
Yuta Morimoto
Tomoko Yuge (Yugechi)

“The Great Karatsu Exhibition”
Dates: December 13 (Sat), 14 (Sun), 2025
Opening Hours: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Venue: Kaikai Kiki Gallery
2-3-30 Motoazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0046
Motoazabu Crest Bldg. B1F
https://gallery-kaikaikiki.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/daikaratsuten/ (Executive Committee of the Great Karatsu Exhibition)
https://www.instagram.com/kaikaikikigallery/ (Kaikai Kiki Gallery)