MICHIKAWA Shozo

Born in 1953 in Hokkaido, Japan, ceramicist Shozo Michikawa transforms clay into kinetically suggestive vessels with dramatically contorted structures. Michikawa’s signature technique of twisting clay on a potter’s wheel, demonstrating his interest in exploring abstraction while creating functional vessels, has its roots in time spent working at a ceramic factory during the artist’s youth.

Since the 1970s, he has lived in the city of Seto in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, a region whose rich history of ceramics has influenced his own artistic language. His angular pieces are finished with simple, yet striking natural ash and wood ash glazes, inspired by the serene landscape of his childhood home in Japan’s northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido.

In 2011, Michikawa founded the SASAMA International Ceramic Art Festival, the first of its kind in Japan. The festival fosters cultural exchange in a rural setting where traditional Japanese life and artistry still thrive, blending artistic innovation with an immersive experience of Japan’s natural and cultural heritage.