AKIO NUKAGA
Akio Nukaga is a master potter, and an important contemporary face of Kasama ceramics. He began his career in 1989 at the Kōzan-gama kiln, before creating an individual base in 1993.
Active in ceramics in this period, Nukaga was part of a generation that lead a return to craft following the collapse of Japan’s bubble economy. Within a domestic movement in this way, he has also built connections with like-minded potters around the world. At the centre of it, is his work. His pieces have a rhythm, frequently expressed through shinogi type pleated lines on their surface. Nukaga turns to traditional Japanese forms and techniques, but also draws on a broad ceramic imagination. He describes some of his pieces as possessing an almost mid-century style and outlook. In glaze, he often features the textural mix of kohiki, which places light clay over a dark background. With the skills of a Japanese potter, Akio Nukaga too has broad horizons, and in this way personifies the vibrancy of contemporary ceramics in Kasama.
