"After the Kiln" with B-OWND Gallery Tokyo: Sakai Tomoyama 酒井智也, Yoshiaki Imamura 今村能章, Takahiro Koga 古贺崇洋

Fired in the kiln, earth is tempered into bone and soul. Yet when the blaze recedes, the real story quietly begins.

On November 8, Wuhan Contemporary Art Laboratory (Wuhan C Lab), together with Tokyo’s B-Ownd Gallery, presented the exhibition After the Kiln. We invite you to step into the world of contemporary ceramics by three artists, Tomoya Sakai, Yoshiaki Imamura, and Takahiro Koga. Through 90 remarkable works shown on the Chinese mainland for the first time, hear the hushed murmurs of clay after its rebirth. After the kiln, every kind of cooling signals a new awakening. The power of flame lies not only in transforming earth, but in revealing the spirituality of matter and the continuity of life. Bringing together the latest creations of Imamura, Koga, and Sakai, this exhibition responds, each in a distinct artistic language, to the contemporary possibilities of “ceramics,” an ancient medium.

In “After the Kiln,” what we witness is not merely objects shaped by fire, but the three artists’ reflections on being, time, and perception. Their works resemble fragments of consciousness that have passed through intense heat, glowing as they cool, carrying forward humanity’s enduring inquiry into “form” and “the formless.”

Tomoya Sakai (酒井智也)

At just the age of 35, Tomoya Sakai has already presented more than thirty exhibitions across Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, among other places. His works were selected for the International Ceramic Biennale in Korea in both 2020 and 2021, and he received the Silver Award (2021) and Bronze Award (2024) at the Mino International Ceramic Competition. His works have entered major museum collections worldwide, including the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza (Italy), the Gyeonggi Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art (Korea), and the Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taiwan), establishing him as one of the most closely watched artists in Japan and on the global ceramics scene.

“In a society flooded with information, I search through clay and the potter’s wheel for images from the unconscious,” Sakai says. “I want viewers to recall important memories that have long since vanished, and to feel proof of being alive.”

Sakai’s geometric and abstract forms serve as a bridge for dialogue with the world, and as a meditation on life and a remembrance of loss. He hopes to shape enduring works in clay, accumulating the emotions and stories of human existence. We sincerely invite you to experience Tomoya Sakai’s ceramic works, alive with vitality, and to hold on to those precious memories and feelings.

Yoshiaki Imamura (今村能章)

Yoshiaki Imamura was originally drawn to three-dimensional expression, which led him to ceramics as his medium. He majored in ceramics at Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts. In his early years he focused on learning pottery-making and traditional craftsmanship, yet he found himself uninterested in conventional techniques.

In his fourth year, when free expression was encouraged, he became deeply fascinated by “firing.” He conducted experiments every day, placing objects from his surroundings, such as asphalt and coral, into ceramic forms to see what would happen after firing. Each experiment brought surprise and discovery.

Temperatures inside the kiln can reach 1300°C, high enough to melt most materials on Earth. The final appearance of a work shifts with clay type, glaze, firing temperature, and the swirling movement of flame. Without human intervention, gravity and heat act together to produce irregular curves and intricate configurations. In some ways, this process resembles how the Earth forms minerals and rocks over long spans of time.

Like an alchemist, he transforms materials found in nature into singular artworks. More than ten types of clay and glaze are selected and blended, yet the final result is left to the kiln to decide. The true pleasure of ceramic-making lies in being “the first witness,” watching something never seen before come into being. Imamura laughs: “It feels delightfully satisfying, as if I’m in a serious competition with the Earth.”

Imamura was raised in a Christian family, and in his early years he found it difficult to accept ideas about human origins and the story of Noah’s Ark. Yet as he began making physical works in Okinawa, a land cradled by the sea like a mother’s arms, he witnessed nature’s overwhelming power, something humans cannot contend with, and started to consider that “perhaps it isn’t entirely impossible.” He began asking himself: “What is gravity? What is a human being?” As he continues to think through these questions, he keeps pursuing his craft.

Like an alchemist, he transforms materials found in nature into singular artworks. More than ten types of clay and glaze are selected and blended, yet the final result is left to the kiln to decide. The true pleasure of ceramic-making lies in being “the first witness,” watching something never seen before come into being. Imamura laughs: “It feels delightfully satisfying, as if I’m in a serious competition with the Earth.”

Takahiro Koga (古贺崇洋)

Takahiro Koga creates wearable ceramics, spiked maneki-neko and daruma, and anything that can “give new ideas a concrete form.” “I like learning from the past, and using it to create something entirely new that responds to the present,” Koga said in an interview with TW. This drive for innovation led him, during a special event at Miyashita Park in 2022, to produce NFTs of his works and present them in digital form, one year after showing the physical pieces.

“At the time, no one in the ceramics world was trying NFTs,” he said, which was also why he wanted to explore new media. This openness and curiosity have also brought him collaborations with brands such as Adidas and the anime Tokyo Ghoul.

“I first encountered ceramics through an art education club at my university,” Koga said.

Though the path sounds indirect, a single introductory lecture captivated him, and midway through university he changed his major to formally study ceramics. Born and raised in Fukuoka, he stayed in Kyushu to continue his training, a choice that made perfect sense. Kyushu is home to multiple renowned ceramic traditions in Japan, including Karatsu ware and Arita ware in Saga Prefecture.

It was here that Koga refined his skills, moving freely between two styles: the former known for its rugged texture and earthy tones, the latter the complete opposite, bright, smooth, and delicate. To this day, he continues to use raw materials from Arita, creating in studios located in Fukuoka and Kagoshima.

Koga insists on staying in Kyushu to work, believing that local culture and modes of expression should be protected against the backdrop of ongoing population decline in Japan’s rural regions. Like a true craftsman, his touch runs through every step of the process, from wedging clay and firing the kiln to the final spray-painting and coloring. Grounded in centuries-old techniques, he deftly fuses bold innovation into his practice, producing a striking beauty of contrasts. Each of Koga’s works begins with a traditional object, yet ultimately arrives in a “punk samurai” form. His “Neo Maneki-neko” and “Neo Daruma” are among the clearest embodiments of his signature idea: adding spikes.

“在窑火之后”，我们看到的不仅是被火焰塑形的器物，更是三位艺术家对存在、时间与感知的思辨。他们的作品如同经历烈焰后的意识碎片，在冷却中发光，延续人类对“形”与“无形”的永恒追问。

酒井智也 （Tomoya Sakai）

年仅三十五岁的酒井智也 （Tomoya Sakai），已在意大利、法国、英国、韩国等地举办超过三十场展览。其作品分别于2020年与2021年入选韩国的国际陶艺双年展，并于2021年与2024年荣获美浓国际陶艺竞赛银奖与铜奖。多件作品被国际博物馆收藏，包括意大利法恩扎国际陶艺博物馆、韩国京畿道当代陶艺博物馆及台湾省莺歌陶瓷博物馆，使他在日本乃至全球陶艺界崭露头角，成为最受瞩目的艺术家之一。

“在这个信息泛滥的社会中，我通过黏土与转轮寻找无意识中的图像，让观者回忆起那些早已消逝的重要记忆，感受到活着的证明。”酒井说。

酒井的几何形态与抽象作品，是他与世界对话的桥梁，也是他对生命的反思、对失去的追忆。他希望以陶泥塑造雋永的作品，积累人类存在的情感与故事。诚挚邀请您欣赏酒井智也充满生命力的陶艺作品，留住那些珍贵的记忆与情感。

今村能章（Yoshiaki Imamura）

今村能章（Yoshiaki Imamura） 原本对三维表现感兴趣，因此选择了陶瓷作为表达方式。他在冲绳县立艺术大学主修陶艺，最初几年他专注于学习陶器制作和传统工艺，但对传统技法并不感兴趣。

在大学的第四年，允许自由表达时，他对“烧制”产生了极大的兴趣。他每天进行各种实验，尝试将自己周围的物品（如沥青、珊瑚）放入陶器中，看看烧成后的效果。每一次的实验都带来惊讶与发现。

窑内的温度可高达1300摄氏度，地球上的大多数物质都会在这种高温下融化。作品的表现形式会根据泥土类型、釉料、火温以及火焰旋转的不同而变化。没有人类干预的情况下，重力与热量共同作用下产生出不规则的曲线和精巧的设计。这一过程与地球在漫长时间里形成矿物和岩石的方式有些相似。

他像一位炼金术士，将大自然中找到的各种材料转化为独特的艺术作品。超过十种不同类型的泥土和釉料被选用并混合，但最终的效果交由窑来决定。陶瓷创作的真正乐趣在于成为“第一位见证者”，见证某种从未见过的事物的诞生。今村笑道：“我有一种愉悦的感觉，仿佛与地球展开了一场严肃的竞赛。”

今村出生在一个基督教家庭，早年对人类的起源和诺亚方舟的故事并不容易接受。然而，当他在冲绳这个母亲海洋怀抱中的土地上创作实物时，他亲眼目睹了人类无法与之抗衡的大自然力量，开始思考“这并非完全不可能”的问题。他开始问自己：“什么是重力？什么是人类？”在思索这些问题的过程中，他持续追寻他的工艺。

他像一位炼金术士，将大自然中找到的各种材料转化为独特的艺术作品。超过十种不同类型的泥土和釉料被选用并混合，但最终的效果交由窑来决定。陶瓷创作的真正乐趣在于成为“第一位见证者”，见证某种从未见过的事物的诞生。今村笑道：“我有一种愉悦的感觉，仿佛与地球展开了一场严肃的竞赛。”

古贺崇洋 （Takahiro Koga）

古贺崇洋 （Takahiro Koga） 创作可穿戴陶瓷、布满尖刺的招财猫与达摩，以及一切能够“让新想法具象化”的作品。“我喜欢从过去学习，并以此创造出回应当下的全新事物。”古贺崇洋在接受《TW》采访时说。这种对创新的渴望促使他在 2022 年于宫下公园举办特别活动时，为自己的作品制作了 NFT 并以数字形式展出——就在他展出实体作品的一年之后。

“那时候在陶艺界，还没有人尝试做 NFT。”他说，这也是他想探索新媒介的原因。这种开放与好奇的心态也让他与 Adidas 和动画《东京喰种（Tokyo Ghoul）》等品牌展开了合作。

“我是在大学的一个艺术教育社团里接触到陶艺的。”古贺说。

虽然听起来有点间接，但在一次简单的讲座后，他就被陶艺深深吸引，并在大学中途改了专业，正式学习陶艺。古贺出生并成长于福冈，并留在九州继续学习陶艺——这是一个极为合理的选择。九州岛拥有多种日本著名的陶艺风格，包括佐贺县的唐津烧与有田烧。

古贺正是在这里磨练技艺，并在两种风格间自由游走：前者以粗犷质地与泥土色调闻名，后者则完全相反，明亮、光滑、精致。直到今天，他仍在作品中使用来自有田的原料，在位于福冈与鹿儿岛的工作室创作。

他坚持留在九州创作，认为应当在日本乡村人口持续减少的背景下，守护本地文化与表达方式。像真正的匠人一样，古贺的触感贯穿于创作的每一步——从和泥、烧窑到最后的喷漆上色。他以数百年的传统工艺为根基，巧妙融合大胆的创新，使作品呈现出奇妙的对比之美。古贺的每件作品都以传统物件为起点，但最后呈现出一种“朋克武士”式的造型。例如“Neo 招财猫”和“Neo 达摩”便是他“加上尖刺”理念的最典型例子。