Shozo Michikawa’s creations teach us about the lifecycle of soil and stone in profound, beautiful ways. Born in the volcanic terrain of Hokkaido, where rock is formed; feeling and collecting the local stones during his daily hikes on Mount Sanageyama; forming the clay in his hands with a mix of tenderness and energy; it’s as if he’s an ambassador for the land
When conceptualizing the exhibit, we wanted to express his work and biography by inviting nature into the gallery. As time passes, boulders turn into stones, stones turn into pebbles, and pebbles degrade to grains of clay. The work, in essence, is sculpted stone complementing and paying respect to its original form.
— Trey Trahan (Founder & CEO of Trahan Architects)
Kyoto, April 13, 2025 ― Sokyo (Furumonzen）is pleased to present “The Sound of the Mountains”, a collaboration between ceramic artist Shozo Michikawa and design architect Trey Trahan. The show features 29 of Michikawa's latest ceramic artworks alongside 11 natural stones arranged by Trahan.
Grounded in shared fundamental elements of both art and architecture —such as form, nature, space, material, and environment, this exhibition has been built upon the inspiring and innovative dialogue between Michikawa and Trahan. Much like the subtle resonance of ‘the sound of the mountain’, the quiet interplay between their sensibilities is expressed in the poetic conversation between sculpture and stone.
Michikawa’s works are distinguished by their spiraling forms—at once forceful and serene, embodying both dynamic energy and a solitary stillness. These sculptural gestures echo the landscapes of Lake Toya and Mount Usu in Hokkaido, where the artist was born and raised. Shaped by an environment where beauty and threat coexist, his work resonates with a deep, almost spiritual awareness of the natural world: its grandeur and grace, but also its silence and latent power.
Michikawa’s previous approach involved carving into the exterior of a clay mass with wire while shaping the form on a rotating wheel. In this exhibition, however, he introduces a groundbreaking unprecedented method in his practice: cutting into the interior of the clay. Through this innovative process, he has realized new works in several of his signature series, including Volcano Sculptural Form, Kohiki Sculptural Form, Kohiki Natural Ash Sculptural Form, and Tanka with Silver Sculptural Form.
Michikawa approaches clay with a profound sincerity, attuned to the forms the clay itself inherently wishes to take, and drawing out the material’s fullest potential in an instant with instinctive precision. There is an improvisational quality to his process, which seems to echo his optimistic attitude towards life itself.
Trahan presents a selection of natural stones within the gallery space, symbolizing the harmony between Michikawa’s sculptural works and the natural world. In conceiving the spatial design for this exhibition, he draws inspiration from the stone arrangements at Ryōan-ji Temple (Kyoto). Upon entering the gallery’s Japanese-style room, visitors encounter three large stones that evoke the grandeur and strength of nature. In the white cube space at the back, five Yaku-ishi (functional stepping stones traditionally used by attendants during tea ceremonies) from the Katsura River (Kyoto) are carefully placed. Linking these two spaces, a cylindrical Tsuka-ishi (usually stones used to solidify or strengthen the foundation of a house) is set in the tokonoma (recessed space in a Japanese-style reception room), while Moriyama-ishi — stones often associated with Japanese garden designer Jihei Ogawa—are arranged beneath the staircase and along transitional pathways, serving as bases for displaying artworks. This exhibition invites the viewer to reflect on the life cycle of clay emerging from stone, while reaffirming the presence of art within the natural world.
Trahan has designed the USA pavilion for the at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, and this exhibition will be held concurrently with the Expo. In an uncertain, complex, uncertain, and ambiguous era, the exhibition aims to foster cross-border exchange through art, bringing together people from the U.S. and Japan, Osaka and Kyoto, as well as from all over the world, with the goal of shaping a better future.
Shozo Michikawa
Born in 1953 in Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan. Based in Seto City, Aichi Prefecture. Michikawa has held solo exhibitions and workshops in more than 30 countries in Europe, America, and Asia. His works have joined the collections of more than 20 museums including, The Victoria and Albert Museum (London, UK); Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, UK); Aberystwyth University (Wales, UK); National Museum Cardiff (Wales, UK); Pallant House Gallery (Chichester, UK); Musee Cernuschi(Paris, France)；Musée de Lyon, (Lyon, France); Museo Carlo Zauli (Faenza, Italy)；Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche (Faenza, Italy)；Museum Rietberg (Zürich, Switzerland)；Veste Coburg Art Collections, European Museum of Modern Glass (Coburg, Germany)；Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Hamburg, Germay)；Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (Los Angeles, CA, USA) ; Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA, USA); Crocker Art Museum, (Sacramento, CA, USA); Asian Art Museum (San Francisco, CA, USA)；Minneapolis Institute of Art (Minneapolis, MN, USA); Worcester Art Museum, (Worcester, MA, USA); China-Japan Exchange Center (Beijing, China)；Qinglong Temple (Xi'an, China); Ceramic Museum of Ibaraki (Kasama, Japan); Ceramic Museum of Ibaraki (Kasama, Japan); Shimada City Museum (Shizuoka, Japan) and many others.
Major solo shows include, HB381 (New York, USA) 2024;TAZUTAZUSHI: Peering beyond tradition, SOKYO ATSUMI, Tokyo, Japan (2023); Haiku in Clay, Silverlens Gallery (Manila, Philippines) 2022; Michikawa Shozo Solo Exhibition, Sokyo Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal) 2022; Shozo Michikawa, Hostler Burrows, (Los Angelos, CA, USA) 2021; 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Sokyo Gallery (Kyoto, Japan) 2019; Nature into Art, Silverlens Gallery (Manila, Philippines) 2017; Natura, Gesto, Scultura, Museo Carlo Zauli, (Faenza, Italy) 2016; SHOZO MICHIKAWA in London, Erskine Hall & Coe (London, UK )2011, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2023; Returning to Nature’s Spimplicity and Truth, Forbidden City (Beijing, China) 2005 and at Shandong Museum (Shandong, China) in the same year; Shozo Michikawa, Galerie Besson (London, UK) 2004, 2007, 2009.
Major group shows include, Art Fair Philippine, Silverlens Gallery (Manila, Philippines) 2023; Fog Design + Art, Hostler Burrows (San Francisco, CA, USA) 2023; Art Basel, Basel, Takaishii Gallery (Basel, Switzerland) 2022; Response and contrast with contemporary Japanese ceramics, Sokyo Annex (Kyoto, Japan) 2022; Art Basel, Hong Kong, Takaishii Gallery (Hong Kong) 2021; Art Fair Tokyo, Sokyo Gallery (Tokyo, Japan) 2019; Masterpieces-400 years of Japanese Ceramics, Keramist Center Höganäs (Höganäs, Sweden) 2018; Ceramics Now! , International Museum of Ceramic Art (Faenza, Italy) 2018; ArtCe’ram (Sevres, France) 2014; The Art of Japanese Craft 1870 to the Present, Philadelphia museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA,USA) 2009; Japanese Crafts, Galerie Besson, (London, UK) 2006; Gallery Pots, Gallery Besson (London, UK) 1999.
Awards include, Encouragement Public Prize (Paris, France) 2022; Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, Finalist, Loewe Foundation (Tokyo, Japan) 2019; Ceramics Now : Faenza Prize is 80 years old, International Museum of Ceramics (Faenza, Italy) 2018; The Bavarian State Prize at the International Trade Fair, Gold medal (Munich, Germany) 2018; CERAM ICAM OSAICO, Grand Prix (Ravenna, Italy) 2005.
Trey Trahan
Founder and CEO of Trahan Architects, Victor F. “Trey” Trahan III, FAIA, is globally recognized for designs that exhibit technological innovation, material expression, and a quiet sense of beauty. Trahan takes a rooted approach to architecture that considers the physical, cultural, and social environments of each project and place. His work manifests peace, justice, and community connection, reaching beyond the traditional bounds of architecture. Notable projects include The U.S. Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai, the renovation of the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Louisiana Museum and Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
Over the years, Trahan Architects’ innovative designs have garnered over 100 national, state, regional, and local AIA awards. It has also been ranked the number one design firm in the U.S., by Architect 50, a national ranking of architecture firms published by Architect Magazine, the official magazine of the AIA.
Parallel to his practice, he is involved with various organizations and initiatives related to architecture, sustainability and preservation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Cultural Landscape Foundation. As extensions and incubators of the firm’s ethos, he stewards of two conservation properties, in St. Francisville, Louisiana and Patagonia, Chile, exploring with a team of consultants, academics and experts how human occupation and ecologies are intertwined. Through their work and ethos-driven initiatives, Trahan and his firm are dedicated to exploring how architecture can reveal stories untold with humility and enduring vision.
(Courtesy of Trahan Architects)
