In the spring of the third year of university, I was shocked by the exhibition of Sodeisha at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, which determined my way of life. After that, I was captured by the three-dimensional work of ceramic, and my everyday production is nothing but "looking into the depth of my heart". Sometimes I felt like I was leaning and relying on the plasticity and firing of clay. Sometimes, I struggled to hold down their fight back. Time flies. After 50 years of crafting, I started to realize that it is also necessary to contain the "ideal", which is under the control of rationality, into the works. My attitude towards the material that I used to repel is also loosened. "The clay was innocently made into one piece. The movement of instinct and unconscious nature are being pulled out." I am thinking of counting such organicism and charm of pottery on the works of young artists who are "living in the present", but on the other hand, going for "splendid works" myself. ― Harumi Nakashima
A work, Soul (1971), is the trigger for him to study under Mr. Junkichi Kumakura and the starting point of his works. To practice the teacher's words that "creating his own modeling theory that nobody else has is what makes an artist an artist", he made conversation with the clay and incorporated himself into his work. He confirmed the existence of himself by touching the clay and impregnating with his soul. Starting from this work, Pure Culture (1980), Ufufu. (1984), Birds with Cosmos Colored Feathers (1986), etc. were released. When Nakashima was invited to the European Ceramic Work Center (EKWC) in the Netherlands in 2002, he changed the material from ceramic to porcelain and began to work on hand twisting of porcelain. In this exhibition, his porcelain works of WORK - 0506 (2005), which is crafted in the 2000s, the great turning point for Nakashima, along with the latest porcelain works, will be displayed.
Confronting the fictile of clay, Nakashima keeps expressing just as leading his heart towards the sound of his soul. He has been evolving continuously, and the world he has created is enormous. Conflict and clear decision can be felt. Not flirting with anyone, Nakashima keeps asking himself "What do you make by creating a ceramic?" and has established an organic character of himself. Through this exhibition, Nakashima’s soul and his way of life, which is instinctively, physically, and meditatively entrusted to the nature of the soil, can be experienced
Harumi Nakashima
Born 1950 in Gifu, Japan. He lives and works in Ena, Gifu, Japan. He received B.A., Ceramic from Osaka University of Arts Design in 1973. He moved to Shigaraki, Shiga, Japan and stared his career as a ceramic artist. In 1976 he started to work at Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center. From 2003 to 2014, he was a professor at Aichi University of Education. Currently a director of Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center. Collections include National Crafts Museum, Kanazawa, Japan; Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY, U.S.A.; The International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, Italy; European Ceramic Work Centre, Oisterwijk, The Netherlands; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK; Shangyu Celadon Modern International Ceramic Art Center, Shangyu, China; Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, and more. Awards include The Japan Ceramics Society Award (2010), Gold Award, International Ceramics Competition Mino '95, Gifu, Japan (1995), Bronze Award, International Ceramic Competition Mino '89, Gifu, Japan (1989), The Second Award, Mainichi ID Award (1980).
