Akiko has created a body of work inspired by images of antique wood-fired jars from her old and cherished collection of the Japanese magazine 'Bessatsu Taiyo'; "the pieces I make have a kind of antiquity, yet I can cherry pick the effect I like." 25th June - 15th September.

大壺、小壺　– O-tsubo, Ko-tsubo 

Flow is delighted to present, a solo show by Akiko Hirai.

An Introduction by Akiko Hirai

"I have a small collection of old Japanese magazines called Bessatsu Taiyo (別冊太陽). Each issue features a creative field; theatre plays, photography, pottery, literature, architecture. Within the subject there is always a specific focus on topics, objects or people. One of my favourite issues is called O-tsubo, Ko-tsubo. It translates big jars and small jars. I have had it more than a quarter of a century and have now read it so many times the pages are falling apart. Unfortunately, it is no longer published and you can only get second hand, back copies, which are very hard to come by. Most of the jars featured in these pages are antiques and wood fired. Over the years I have studied the surfaces of these jars and spent time replicating the effects their marks and textures using my gas kiln. Since my time as a student, these pages have offered me so much inspiration and insight into surface qualities, teaching me mostly about the chemistry of raw materials. 

I have had so many unsuccessful attempts at re-creating the surfaces of these jars, however, these failed attempts produced what now defines my work; 'antique like, but not quite' pots, which are more contemporary than traditional. The pieces I make have a kind of antiquity, yet I can cherry pick the effect I like. They are no longer imitations of an ancient wood fired pots, but my unique pots.

In this solo exhibition O-tsubo, Ko-tsubo I will exhibit micro to giant jars with various shapes and textures which will sit alongside a collection of my more familiar works." - Akiko Hirai

Words on Akiko, by Marina Vaizey

 “Moon jars and tea bowls and vessels, receptacles, all hinting at their long and honourable lineage, yet also absolutely contemporary.  These achievements stem from what great ceramicists always cope with, endless failures out of the kiln when unexpected accidents, conditions, flaring temperatures, confound hopes and expectations.  Sometimes the unexpected adds - beautifully and unexpectedly.  Sometimes there are objects that the artist just has to throw - away - or the materials recycled.   All of these happenings add to knowledge and skill. Perfection is static, immovable, unyielding; imperfection is life., the circle that is not quite perfect, the glaze under control that suddenly takes a tiny unexpected journey, the colours that gleam and glisten in unexpected ways, in short, the hand-made, but made by hand with a skill that has grown through time, through repetition and variation.  Akiko Hirai’s great skill allows for spontaneity, improvisation, rescues and the unexpected.” - Marina Vaizey (2020)