Japanese Literary Awards

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Kinpei Nakamura

なかむら きんぺい

Nakamura Kinpei

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-06-13 （Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, English
Residence History
Kanazawa, Ishikawa → Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo (base of activity)

Career

Occupations
ceramic artist, contemporary artist, art educator, university professor
Active Years
1955-
Affiliations
Tama Art University (Professor Emeritus), Kanazawa College of Art (Honorary Visiting Professor), Craft Center Japan (former Executive Director), International Academy of Ceramics (member, until 2001), International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Visiting Researcher, 2004-2008)
Memberships
International Academy of Ceramics (member)
Influenced By
Kitaoji Rosanjin

Education

Kanazawa College of Art
Sculpture / Sculpture
Country: Japan
Left before graduation (attended Sculpture)

Awards

Arts Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
1993
Work: Tokyoware: Exploring the Present with Metaceramics (exhibition)
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs / Ministry of Education
Result: 受賞
Commendation by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs
2006
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
J.D. Rockefeller III Foundation Fellowship (US–Japan Cultural Exchange Fellowship)
1969
Organization: J.D. Rockefeller III Foundation (now Asian Cultural Council)
Result: fellowship

Awards & Nominations

Art Encouragement Prize for Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2 appearances
  1. Edition 44 (1994) 受賞
    Work: 東京焼・中村錦平展―メタセラミックスで現在をさぐる

    東京焼・中村錦平展―メタセラミックスで現在をさぐる is an honored artistic work or activity associated with 中村錦平. No standalone book or paperback publication could be confirmed, so it is best understood as a performance, exhibition, or related artistic achievement.

    東京焼・中村錦平展―メタセラミックスで現在をさぐる is the work by 中村錦平 recognized by the award.

    arts awardcreative practiceperformance or exhibition
  2. Edition 44 (1994) 受賞
    Work: 東京焼・中村錦平展

Works

Major Works

Tokyoware (Tokyo-yaki)

1970 ceramics / installation

A series of works created under the concept 'Tokyoware', using electric kilns in Tokyo to explore relationships between material (clay) and urban/civilization contexts. Includes 'metaceramics' installations that treat clay as a medium responding to contemporary society.

dialogue between tradition and modernityrelation between civilization and craftsmanshipurbanity and ruin imagery

Semegiau Irameme - Doshigatashi (Exhibition title)

1969 exhibition / ceramics

The 1969 exhibition that marked an important early statement in his modern ceramic practice; it displayed experimental energy that later developed into Tokyoware.

experimentationdeparture from tradition

Bibliography

  • Kinpei Nakamura 88-91
  • Tokyoware: Self-theory — Pottery Born from the Clash of Japan vs. Western Modernism
  • On the Survival of Ceramics: Are You an Ultra-Skilled Technician?

Style & Themes

Literary Style
poetic yet polemical formsconceptual expression oriented to dialogue with civilization
Recurring Motifs
clay and waterruinous urban imagerydeconstruction and reconstruction of traditional vessels

Legacy

Recognized as one of postwar Japan's most innovative ceramic artists. Through critical reappraisal of tradition and dialogue with contemporary civilization, he has left a significant mark on Japanese contemporary ceramics. As an educator he trained many successors, and his works are held in major domestic and international collections.

Museums

  • 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan
  • The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
  • Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan

Academic Societies

  • International Academy of Ceramics

Archives

  • Tama Art University Craft Department archives (holds related materials)
  • 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (collection holdings)

Quotes

  • I aim for art that gives expression to the interaction between clay-based works and civilization/society/era. In the past half-century I have seen civilization move from handicraft → industrialization/high industrialization → informationization. Early handicrafts and ceramics are beautiful, but entities that cannot engage with the development of civilization lack substance and become hollow forms. I have come to believe that enlivening one's expression requires confronting the times.
    Source: Tama Art University Research Bulletin ("Fifty Years of Contemporary Ceramics in the Late 20th Century") (2012)

Trivia

  • Born as the third-generation heir of the Nakamura Baizan kiln in Kanazawa
  • Proposed and developed the experimental firing concept known as 'Tokyoware'