Ippodo Gallery is pleased to present Beauty of Life¸ the debut exhibition in the US of ceramic works by Yuki Hayama, an exceptional artist whose ceramics are exceptional, characterized by careful patterns, with meticulous attention to detail acting as a meditative aim for a better world. Hayama personifies the forces of nature – water, flowers, trees, animals, sky, earth – across 20 works. All are encapsulated in every single bowl. Large and small, pots and dishes, each ceramic piece is shaped as a sphere, further expressing universality in design as clearly as technique.
At 15 years old, Hayama began working at a pottery studio at home in Arita, a historic Japanese ceramic center. With his birth overshadowed by tragedy, he channeled his circumstances into a determination to love others and art, using ceramic craftsmanship as a vehicle to spread peace. More than an artist, Hayama is also a historian and a writer who integrates these aspects into his work. Throughout his process, he contemplates humanity’s existence. He researches extensively to determine the artwork’s theme and then researches the theme in-depth. Conceptualizing, he writes a story, crafting a narrative on which the work is based. By writing, the image is formed in his mind. He has even published his own picture books and novels. His stories often tell of mankind’s hopes, joys, and sorrows, of tomorrow and the distant past.
After years of hard work, Hayama’s single-minded and harmonic approach to art eventually led to great acclaim. Ever the modest, humble craftsman, Hayama continues to work diligently to honor his art. He first set up his own kiln at age 23 in Yamauchi-cho in Saga Prefecture, holding his first solo show five years later in Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, in 1990. Since then, his work has been shown all around Japan, with international exposure in Helsinki, Finland as well.
