Tsuchitomo no Hakaba exhibition

August 26, 2023 (Sat.) – August 27, 2023 (Sun.)
GALLERY HOURS :11:00 – 19:00

※This exhibition is now concluded.
Thank you to all the many people who stopped by.

Kaikai Kiki Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition “Tsuchitomo no Hakaba (the graveyard of Tsushitomo)” on August 26 and 27, 2023.
Tsuchitomo, or Friends of Clay, is a group of artists, both professional and amateur, who each dig their own clay for their pottery. The group has held exhibitions twice before, but this third exhibition will be the first to be held at a gallery.

Exhibition Outline

We are pleased to announce our third exhibition, “Tsuchitomo no Hakaba,” at Kaikai Kiki Gallery.
A little over a year ago, in Okinawa, we were approached by contemporary artist Takashi Murakami about this exhibition, and our gut instinct told us that this was going to be extremely interesting; we immediately accepted the offer.
It was out of curiosity̶What would happen if we threw our “Tsuchitomo” full force at the giant of the contemporary art world? It might break…. If it were to break, what would we find in the aftermath? Perhaps something yet unknow might be born out of it….
The title of this exhibition, “Tsuchitomo no Hakaba (the graveyard of Tsushitomo),” is filled with such connotations and thoughts.
And “Tsuchitomo,” or Friends of Clay, refers to those of us who love clay and stones, as well as pottery, and are all hard-core potters who start by digging up our own clay the way we each want.
This is going to be a fun, exciting, and thrilling exhibition for us friends of clay.
We hope you will enjoy.

Ryuichi Haga and Naoki Wada, the Tsuchitomo organizers

Message from Takashi Murakami

Starting at midnight on June 18, I had an hour-long discussion with Mr. Wada about the Tsuchitomo exhibition to be held at Kaikai Kiki Gallery.
Mr. Wada suggested that we change the title of the exhibition to the one mentioned above, which I thought was a very good idea.

For some time now, I have been facing the world of ceramics with sincerity in my own way.
If there has been a direction to my approach, it is to meet and communicate with artists who have the spirit to create the ultimate ceramic art of our time, and to create a work of art, a movement, that truly shines at the pinnacle of the time.

I have a feeling that there are artists in the Tsuchitomo movement who are willing to embrace this mood.

I myself have been aiming for the pinnacle of contemporary art in the capitalist economy, and have been surviving there for the past 30 years. The world around me is full of corpses, and it is a sorrowful thing, but I am able to see the scenery that only those who have survived can see.

I believe that there must be such a landscape in ceramic art as well.
Those who have been getting by through enumerating cunning techniques to make a few extra bucks or sophistry to fool ignorant customers make the mistake of thinking they are stepping into the world of art, but I have been working to make it clear that there are clear boundaries.

In the world of ceramics, it is possible to blur such lines.
By drawing a clear line between art and non-art and making the distinction obvious, not only the artist but also the audience and patrons will be able to get involved without hesitation.

Tsuchitomo no Hakaba exhibition will be an event that would provide a rehearsal space, so to speak, for seeing such a scenery.
I have high expectations for it.

Takashi Murakami