Makoto Fukushima's solo exhibition opened yesterday. I offered him an exhibition at my gallery right after meeting him at the two-person show at Utsuwa Note @utsuwanote . I don’t recall any logical reason as to why, but I went ahead and invited both of the artists to do a show at my gallery @hidarizingaro @tonari_no_totoya . And so one day in October, as the exhibition was approaching, I visited them in Mashiko, the nearest ceramic production area from Tokyo, where the two artists work. Fukushima was spinning his potter's wheel and firing his kiln in a tiny, shabby hut with holes in the walls. Looking at me with his clear, piercing eyes, he began to talk about the reason why he chose Mashiko: The clay of Mashiko is brown, so he is forced to use a variety glazes in order to get the desired results. I had never met a potter who discusses glaze with passion, so I was taken back. Indeed, his new works were also covered with copious amount of glaze. I was particularly interested in the mixture of the blue, which is quintessentially Mashiko, and the cloudy white, sludgy glaze, which I would not normally find appealing. It felt fresh! This is the artist's first solo exhibition in his life. I thought it might be difficult to sell his works since many of them are abstract, but the exhibition has been a great success from the first day, with Yuta Hosokawa, the designer of the fashion brand Readymade @readymade_official , buying several because he had seen them in photos and wanted them no matter what, as well as Yuichi Kawasaki @yu_kawasaki8 , a collector and pundit of contemporary art, deciding on several pieces on the spot. It surprised us on the gallery end. Such is the new movement coming out of Mashiko. I strongly encourage you ceramic art fans to come and see the actual works. The artist will be at the gallery on the last day. . Makoto Fukushima Solo Exhibition November 12 – November 20 , 2022 Open: 12:00 - 19:00 Closed: Wednesdays Address: Hidari Zingaro, Nakano Broadway 3F, 5-52-15, Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo . #makotofukushima #福島誠 #kaikaikikigallery #カイカイキキギャラリー #tonarinototoya #となりのトトや #hidarizingaro #ceramics #陶芸