Akiko Hirai

Japanese Ceramic Artist

“I LIKE WORKING WITH DARK CLAY. THE WHITE GLAZE I USE ACT AS A VEIL & GIVE MY WORK A FEELING OF STILLNESS. I LOOK FOR CONTRASTS IN THE RAWNESS OF THE DARK TEXTURED CLAY & THE PURITY IN THE LIGHTER GLAZES.”

Akiko often carves her vessels and works quickly and rhythmically. There is an absence of mechanical regularity as she fears the rhythm becoming too static. Her first use of carving was on her plates, gently marked as a flower petal floating on the lake/pond. The carved textures derive from Kamakura-bori, an old folk craft of wood carving based in Kamakura in Japan. This is called Kohiki.

Akiko’s work is currently available at the gallery in her Solo Exhibition.