Long focused on the nuclear disasters that have plagued Japan since the bombing of Hiroshima, Koie Ryōji has made these events his recurrent themes throughout his long career. His “Chernobyl” series of 1989-94 had a profound impact on the Japanese art world. This two-fold screen was created by the artist in response to a less calamitous nuclear incident caused by human error that occurred on September 30, 1999 in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, about 90 miles north of Tokyo.

Koie was one of the most forward-thinking and provocative of Japan’s multi-talented contemporary artists. Trained in his native Tokoname in ceramics, he was especially known for his Oribe glazed vessels. Travels to, and exhibitions in, international locales further inspired Koie as an artist in clay and other media. He is also celebrated for his two-dimensional artwork and installations. His love of experimentation led to his creation of “ceramic happenings,” with social and political themes. In 2008, he was honored with the prestigious Japan Ceramic Society Gold Prize, in recognition of his lifetime achievement. 

Although he began first making ceramics pipes at age ten, followed by his teenaged career in a tile factory, Koie soon rose to prominence as a bold and audacious creator of installation art, performances, as well as freely formed vessels, ingenious sculptures and even teaware in a broad multiplicity of materials and firing processes. His work, now in the permanent collections of major museums throughout the world, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Victoria & Albert, and National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, succeeded in expanding the vision of clay and its potential for artistic expression.