Shozo Michikawa (b. 1953, Japan) is a ceramic artist based in Seto, Japan, where he has maintained a studio since 1975. Michikawa creates expressionist gestural sculptures inspired by nature and his native landscape. His hand-thrown ceramics twist in dynamic spirals along a central axis. The works’ materials and complex silhouettes exist in a harmonic balance between destructive force and stability: distortion, scored surfaces, and fault lines appear across their rough-hewn faces, which glint and shimmer upon close inspection like igneous stones encasing mineral deposits.
Working from Seto, the ancient center of Japanese pottery production, Michikawa employs techniques from the region’s thousand-year-old traditions. He often fires his ceramics in an anagama, an outdoor, wood-stoked kiln which requires constant tending over three or more days of firing. The chance textures of wood ash, pine sap, charcoal, and mineral glazes combine to produce subtle, earth-toned variegations on the ceramics’ surfaces. Often, dark clay bodies combine with satiny, feldspar-rich Shino and white Kohiki glazes to produce stark contrasts in the sculptures’ twisting forms. Elsewhere, Michikawa creates sculptures using rough, unglazed stoneware formed from volcanic Usu earth. The resulting ceramics’ forms and textures recall the seismic forces and volcanic eruptions that have defined much of the Pacific Rim’s geology.
Shozo Michikawa has exhibited widely in Japan as well as internationally. His work is included in many important public and private collections including the Shimada City Museum, Japan; International Museum of Ceramics, Italy; Victoria and Albert Museum, UK; Ashmolean Museum, UK; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; and Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania. He is the recipient of a gold medal at the Internationale Handwerksmesse Munich and was a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019.
SHOZO MICHIKAWA
b. 1953, Hokkaido, Japan
EDUCATION
1971-75
Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
THE INBETWEEN, HB381, New York, NY
2023
Tazutazushi: Peering beyond the tradition, Sokyo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2022
Haiku in Clay, Silverlens Gallery, Manila, Philippines
2021
Shozo Michikawa, Hostler Burrows, Los Angeles, CA
Shozo Michikawa, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
Shozo Michikawa, Galerie Friedrich Müller, Frankfurt, Germany
2020
Shozo Michikawa: Sasama, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
2019
Power of passion, GALERIE hu, Nagoya, Japan
40th Anniversary Exhibition, Shozo Michikawa, Sokyo Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
2018
40ans de Shozo Michikawa, Mizen Fine Art International, Paris, France
40th anniversary Exhibition, Galerie Friedrich Müller, Frankfurt, Germany
40th anniversary Exhibition, Officine Saffi, Milan, Italy
2017
40years 40pots, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
Shozo Michikawa, Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA
Nature into Art, Silverlens Gallery, Manila, Philippines
2016
Shozo Michikawa, Centro Cultural Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
Shozo Michikawa, Galerie Friedrich Müller, Frankfurt, Germany
Nature into Art, Seto Ceramics and Glass Art Center, Seto, Japan
Shozo Michikawa, Museo Carlo Zauli, Faenza, Italy
2015
The Forbidden City, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
Ballades en Terres, Mizen Fine Art, Paris, France
Shozo Michikawa, Puls Contemporary Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2014
Shozo Michikawa, Galerie Friedrich Müller, Frankfurt, Germany
Shozo Michikawa, Hélène Aziza, Paris, France
Nature into Art, GALERIE hu, Nagoya, Japan
2013
Shozo Michikawa, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
Shozo Michikawa, Peter Kummermann, Geneva, Switzerland
Shozo Michikawa, Mitsukoshi Contemporary Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2012
Nature into Art, Centre MATERIA, Quebec, Canada
Shozo Michikawa, Galerie Helene Poree, Paris, France
2011
Shozo Michikawa, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
The Nature of Clay, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
Shozo Michikawa, Puls Contemporary Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Shozo Michikawa, Terra Rossa, Leipzig, Germany
Nature into Art, GALERIE hu, Nagoya, Japan
2009
Nature into Art, Galerie Besson, London, UK
Shozo Michikawa, Art Gallery Oyama, Osaka, Japan
2008
Shozo Michikawa, Clara Scremini Gallery, Paris, France
Shozo Michikawa, GALERIE hu, Nagoya, Japan
2007
30 years 30 pots, Galerie Besson, London, UK
30 years 30 pots, IZUKAN GALLERY, Manila, Philippines
Shozo Michikawa, Gallery Tokyo Eizo, Tokyo, Japan
2006
Shozo Michikawa, Puls Contemporary Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2005
Shozo Michikawa, Blue Spiral Gallery, Asheville, NC
Returning to Nature’s Simplicity and Truth, Shandong Museum, Shandong, China
Returning to Nature’s Simplicity and Truth, Forbidden City, Beijing, China
Shozo Michikawa, Wa-noi, Shizuoka, Japan
Shozo Michikawa, IZUKAN GALLERY, Manila, Philippines
2004
Shozo Michikawa, Galerie Besson, London, UK
2003
Shozo Michikawa, IZUKAN GALLERY, Manila, Philippines
Shozo Michikawa, Matsuzakaya Department Store Gallery, Shizuoka, Japan
Shozo Michikawa, TOBU Department Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2001
Shozo Michikawa, UlaanBaatar Art Gallery, UlaanBaatar, Mongolia
Shozo Michikawa, TOBU Department Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2000
Shozo Michikawa, TOBU Department Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Shozo Michikawa, Mitsukoshi Department Store Gallery, Kurashiki, Japan
1997
Shozo Michikawa, Hiraya Gallery, Manila, Philippines
Shozo Michikawa, Tokyo Department Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1996
Shozo Michikawa, Hiraya Gallery, Manila, Philippines
1995
Shozo Michikawa, Hankyu Department Store Gallery, Osaka, Japan
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
Loewe Teapots, Milan Design Week, Palazzo Citterio, Milan, Italy
Shozo Michikawa and Trey Trahan: The Sound of the Mountains, Sokyo Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
Small Works, Great Artists, Erskine Hall & Coe, London, UK
2023
Japanese Ceramics, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
Small Works, Great Artists, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
International Ceramics, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
2022
Small Works, Great Artists, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
Materials of the Earth, Sokyo Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Vessel or Not?, Sokyo Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
2021
Small Works, Great Artists, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
2020
TEA BOWLS BY 9 ARTISTS, Online Exhibition, Erskine Hall & Coe, London, UK
Nomad, Officine Saffi, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Main Dishes, Officine Saffi, Milan, Italy
Collect, GALERIE hu, Tokyo, Japan
Bienal Internacional de Cerámica de Marratxí, Marratxí, Spain
2019
Watchfire, Silverlens Gallery, Manila, Philippines
Manpower, Shozo Michikawa and Hans Vangsø, A. PETERSEN. Collection & Craft, Copenhagen
Michikawa + Vangsø: Power of Simplicity, Lucy Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA
Small Works, Great Artists, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
Design Miami / Pierre Marie Giraud, Miami, FL
TEFAF / Pierre Marie Giraud, Maastricht, the Netherlands
Art Fair Tokyo / Sokyo gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2018
Glass, Textiles, Lacquer & Ceramic, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
60th edition of the Faenza prize, Faenza, Italy
Design Basel/ Pierre Marie Giraud, Basel, Switzerland
About a Vase, Museo Montelupo, Montelupo, Italy
NIHON NOW, Galerie Du Don, Le Fel, France
International Craft Fair. Modern Masters, Munich, Germany
Masterpieces - 400 Years of Japanese Ceramics, KKAM Höganäs, Höganäs, Sweden
2017
Design Basel/ Pierre Marie Giraud, Basel, Switzerland
Art Fair Philippines, Silverlens Gallery, Manila, Philippines
Love and Violence, Mizen Fine Arts, Padova, Italy
2016
Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Officine Saffi, Milan, Italy
Singapore Contemporary Art Show, Di Legno, Singapore
2015
International Ceramics, Shimada City Museum, Shimada, Japan
International Ceramics, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
2014
Art Ceram, Sèvres, France
Japanese Ceramics, Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK
The Tea Bowl Show, The Oxford Ceramics Gallery, Oxford, UK
ICC Delhi 2014 Art Fair, Delhi, India
2012
International Trade Fair. Modern Masters, Munich, Germany
The World in a Cup, NCECA, Seattle, WA
SOFA, New York, NY
COLLECT, London, UK
Han Hyang Lim Onggi Museum, Korea
2011
Pots from Seven Countries, Galerie Besson, London, UK
Art of Pacific Asia show, New York, NY
2010
SOFA, New York, NY
COLLECT, London, UK
Pots & Paper, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
Summer Exhibition, Galerie Besson, London, UK
Keramicos Collection, Harlem, The Netherlands
2009
The Art of Japanese Craft 1870 to the Present, Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
Soft Beauty of Traditional Shinos, Concord University, WV
SOFA Chicago, CA
2008
A Japanese Dialogue, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Tutor Exhibition, Sussex Barn Gallery, Chichester, UK
The Great North Art Show, Ripon, UK
Twenty Years, Twenty Pots, Galerie Besson, London, UK
International Ceramics, Giroussens, France
SOFA New York, NY
2006
Japanese Crafts, Galerie Besson, London, UK
2005
Ceramica Mosaico, Ravenna, Italy
Summer Exhibition, Galerie Besson, London, UK
The Signature Shop & Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2004
Maiden Bridge Exhibition, Maiden Bridge Farm, Lancaster, UK
Japanese Ceramics, Galerie Besson, London, UK
SOFA, Chicago, CA
2003
Summer Exhibition, Galerie Besson, London, UK
2002
Accompaniments of Tea, Daiichi Gallery, New York, NY
1999
Gallery Pots, Galerie Besson, London, UK
1996
101 Pitcher Exhibition, Terres de Provence, Paris, France
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Musee Cernuschi, Paris, France
Faenza International Museum of Ceramic, Faenza, Italy
Crocker Art Museum Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA
Ashmolean Museum of Art, Oxford, UK
Museo Carlo Zauli, Faenza, Italy
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK
The Museum in Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Shimada City Museum, Shimada, Japan
Modern Glass & Ceramic Museum of Coburg, Germany
Los Angels County Museum of Art, CA
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK
University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
China-Japan Exchange Center, Beijing, China
Qinglingsi, Temple, Xi’an, China
SELECTED AWARDS
2019
LOEWE Craft Prize 2019, Finalist, LOEWE FOUNDATION, Madrid, Spain
2018
International Craft Fair, Gold medal, Munich, Germany
2005
CERAM ICAM OSAICO, Grand Prix, Ravenna, Italy
1991
“Shinpei Asai Prize,” Design Forum in Seto, Japan
