Kamoda Shōji

(1933-1983)

Long considered by many experts to be the greatest Japanese ceramic artist of the 20th century, KAMODA SHŌJI was able to accomplish in half a lifetime what other artists struggle to partially attain in double the time. In an unrivalled period of productivity from 1967-78, Kamoda transformed the aesthetic appreciation of modern ceramics in Japan. Always nominally functional, his stoneware “vessels” are ever imaginative in form, line, balance, glazing and decorative adornment. Form, surface and pattern are created in unison as a single unit. To this day, after his premature death at age forty-nine, clay artists continue to imitate and reinterpret his numerous inventive forms and surface designs. Enormously popular in his own lifetime, his shows typically sold out within hours of opening.