Pucker Gallery


	SHOJI HAMADA Represented by Pucker Gallery since 2002 BORN: 1894 in Tokyo, Japan DIED: 1978 in Mashiko, Japan Most Recent Exhibition: Mingei Potters 11 September 2004 - 12 October 2004

	Shoji Hamada, A Living National Treasure in his time, was one of the most influential potters of the 20th century. He spent time working in Mashiko, Japan as well as St. Ives in England. Hamada was first interested in painting, but discarded it in favor of pottery, figuring, "Even a bad pot has some use, but with a bad painting there is nothing you can do with it except throw it away." Hamada did not receive his training through a traditional apprenticeship, but at the Tokyo Industrial College. He, along with his friends and colleagues including Bernard Leach and Soetsu Yanagi, was involved in spreading the Mingei philosophy and influence in studio pottery. In fact, over the course of his long career, Hamada became both the leading craftsman exponent of Yanagi's Mingei philosophy and, ironically, perhaps the world's most famous potter. Hamada's work was influenced by a wide variety of folk ceramics, including English medieval pottery, Okinawan stonewares and Korean pottery. His works were not merely copies of the styles he studied, but were unique products of his own creative energy. Hamada had no desire to become a folk potter, but his great respect for the artisan's craft led him to draw as much as possible from folk traditions. Hamada's influence on potters around the world is incalculable, and the village in which he settled, Mashiko, north of Tokyo, has become synonymous with Japanese folk ceramics. The Gallery has just received 3 new wonderful examples of Hamada's work.



	Shoji Hamada Set of Five Plates, 1972 Stoneware Iron Painting 1 ½ x 1 ½ x 7 ½" Nu1303-3		Shoji Hamada Pouring Vessel, c. 1960s Stoneware Iron Brushwork Design 4 1/8 x 7 ¼ x 8 ¾" H5
	Shoji Hamada Lidded Bowl, c. 1930's Stoneware 6 x 7 ¾ x 7 ¾ " H11		Shoji Hamada Akae Vase , c. 1970 Stoneware Box signed by Shinsaku Hamada 7 ½ x 3 ½ x 3 ½" H23
	Shoji Hamada Testue Vase With wooden box signed by Hamada Stoneware H 28.5cm x W 12 cm H21		Shoji Hamada Black Glazed Plate with drawing, 1950 Stoneware Black Glazed Plate with drawing 2 x 10 ¾ x 10 ¾" H28
	Shoji Hamada Kaki Glaze Square Plate with Blue Crossing, late 1950 Box signed by Shinsaku Hamada Stoneware 3 ½ x 10 ¾ x 10 ¾" H24		Shoji Hamada Kaki Glazed Plate, 1950 Box signed by Shinsaku Hamada Stoneware 2 x 9 ¾ x 9 ¾" H27