Osamu Makiya × AMAHARE
"The Path I Live"
The straight, delicate lines reminded me of Osamu Makiya's earnest and honest way of life.
Seeking a peaceful environment, Mr. Makiya moved to the southern part of Okinawa.
The new works created in his studio, where the south wind blows through, seem to have the smell of Okinawa and Makiya's straightforward and pure love for the art of ceramics.
This is the time of year when summer remains lingering.
Please spend a comfortable time with Makiya's pottery and art objects.
Date：Friday, August 26, 2022 - Sunday, September 4, 2022
* Closed: Monday, August 29, 2022 - Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Open：13:00～18:00
◇AMAHARE
@amahare
5-5-2 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo
03-3280-0766
info@amahare.jp
◇Meet the artist
Friday, August 26
◇Online Shop
Sales at the online shop are undecided.
When the details are decided, we will inform you SNS and e-mail newsletter.
We look forward to seeing you at our store.
Photo / Yuka Yanazume
Art Direction / Kazuhiro Sawamoto
Four years ago, we held Makiya's first solo exhibition "Indigo and Flowers" at AMAHARE. We were very happy to have so many visitors during the exhibition.
While his representative works are arabesque designs called Karakusa with underglaze blue, the new works for this exhibition are pottery and vases with "straight" lines that give a modern impression.
The changes have been so great that Makiya himself says, "I wonder if the customers will be surprised."
Hearing what he said, "I made these works that also came out of myself", made me strongly desire to make this exhibition a great one.
We cannot help but have high expectations for his new creations, which are the result of a combination of his respectful roots in Okinawa, solid skills, and new sensibilities.
He says he started by improving the soil in the process of creating more textured works of art.
The green ware, which is based on the original soil mined from the mountains, is very thinly drawn with a potter's wheel, leaving the rough texture of the soil.
The delicate painting on it, the balance of everything is outstanding.
At the beginning, he thought about applying rough painting to rough clay, but
"there was a part of me that wanted to make rough things and a part of me that wanted to make delicate things, and this expression was born as a result of that," he said.
The highly precise nested pieces also express Makiya's desire to "make what I want to make now," as he says.
When I see the Karakusa pattern, it rerminds me of the uniqueness of His works, or typical Okinawa style.
It was about 10 years ago when I first visited Mr. Makiya's atelier while he was still in Shuri area.
A small rented car took me up a narrow, steep slope near Shuri Castle, and I found his atelier on my right.
His colorful works, mainly Karakusa patterns illuminated by the strong tropical sunlight, welcome us as brightly as the flowers of Okinawa.
Karakusa pattern with great memories has a different charm when it becomes an octagonal plate instead of the standard round plate.
I hope you will also pay attention to the evolution of the works with underglaze blue.
I really like the sake items made by Makiya.
The "kakuhei," which is drinking tools for KUSU (old Okinawa's Distilled Spirits) and has been available since the opening of AMAHARE, is also very modern and is used by the drinkers who live in the neighborhood.
The new spouted bowl for serving sake is a little more wild and stronger than ever.
Personally, the modern shape of the sake cup really caught my attention.
How delicious it would be to drink sake with such a beautiful sake cup.
Okinawa had active diplomatic relations with the continent during the Ryukyu Dynasty.
Okinawa is located at a cultural exchange point and its culture is also known as "Chanpuru culture," a combination of different cultures that has developed into something more attractive.
Karakusa pattern introduced earlier is one of the typical examples of "Chanpuru culture."
Introduced from the Middle East via the Silk Road from the continent, this unique design is irreplaceable in Okinawan ceramics.
The vase in the photo is a large one, about 40 cm high.
This work, which has a fusion of the Japanese and Western appearance with a feeling a continent, could only have been created by Mr. Makiya, who has Okinawan roots.
This is Makiya's first solo exhibition in four years.
The exhibition will bring all of Makiya's works together in one place, each of which is a pure expression of his inner passion for the art of ceramics, which he does not talk about much.
We are also very excited to see the works that we have not seen yet.
"The Path I Live"
We would be happy to enjoy it with you all!
We look forward to your visit with all the works of Osamu Makiya.