Introduced to Japan in the 19th century, slip-casting was essential to the mass-production of utilitarian vessels for everyday use. Warped or bent bowls and plates were perceived as defective and were immediately discarded, unable to be used or sold. Shigekazu Nagae of Seto witnessed this firsthand as a child, seeing his grandfather and father at the family kiln destroy these kiln failures without hesitation. Yet the curious Nagae questioned: why can’t slip-casting be used to create unique and individual works of contemporary art? Can’t one manipulate the intensity of the kiln fires to intentionally warp, shape and curve porcelain into forms previously unfathomable? Indeed, through strides in both innovation and experimentation, Shigekazu Nagae has played a key role in elevating the technique of slip-casting to the avant-garde. Today, the artist is widely regarded as a leading figure in abstract porcelain.

Born into a family of ceramicists in the ancient ceramic city of Seto,Shigekazu Nagae pushes porcelain to new heights of elegance and drama. There is a remarkable balance between artistry and technical brilliance within the work of Nagae Shigekazu. Following the traditions of his native Seto, Nagae’s artistic process begins with two ikomi molds cast using liquid porcelain. Following drying and bisque-firing, the two eggshell-thin form are suspended inside one another within the kiln. The intense heat of the final firing causes the form to fuse where they were glazed and to further distend, bend and drape around each other. The resulting natural movement leads to elegant shapes and lyrical curves, one form mirroring the other.

The artist’s seductive curvatures are a result of natural kiln effects that serendipitously warp the porcelain into original forms that cannot be realised otherwise. The resulting work is a virtuosic display of abstract elegance, almost paper-like in its thin, seductive movements, in essence inspired by and symbolically recreating the natural beauty of the hills, rivers, and blowing winds of the artist’s home town of Seto, Japan. Nagae’s international recognition has grown in recent years, with acquisitions by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, totalling 21 other museums throughout the world.