Mitsuho Tsuri

釣 光穂

b. 1991, Hyōgo, Japan
Currently lives and works in Kanazawa, Japan

Mitsuho Tsuri is a ceramic artist who reinterprets the primitive technique of coiling in a contemporary context. By rolling clay into cords, stacking and cutting them, she allows the structural cross-sections and layers to remain visible, presenting the process as form.

Her approach is connected to universal methods seen across cultures, from Japanese Jōmon pottery to the mosaic glass of ancient Rome. Yet she chooses her own path of deliberate ‘detours’, multiplying the usual processes and devoting ten times the time and effort, in order to draw out new and unexpected surfaces and textures that cannot be achieved through speed or efficiency.

At first glance, her works may recall knitting or soft textiles, but Tsuri does not aim for imitation. By using pigmented clays, she depicts structure itself, regarding her works as ‘three-dimensional paintings’. Her expression is strongly oriented towards touch, relishing the tension between the visual softness of form and the hardness of fired clay.

In her early works she drew inspiration from everyday objects, showing the strong influence of Pop Art and especially Andy Warhol. Gradually, she shifted away from directly treating daily domestic motifs, turning instead to an exploration of the universality and familiarity of clay as a material, and developing her own distinctive expression.

Biography

2014 BFA in Ceramics, Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan

2016 MFA in Ceramics, Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan

2020 Completed Advanced Training, Kanazawa Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo, Kanazawa, Japan

Selected Awards

2017 Encouragement Prize, 7th Kikuchi Biennale “Contemporary Ceramic Art Now”, Kikuchi Kanjitsu Memorial Tomo Museum, Tokyo, Japan

2018 NHK Kanazawa Broadcasting Director’s Prize, 74th Kanazawa Craft Exhibition, Kanazawa, Japan

2018 Award, Utatsuyama Craft Studio Researchers Exhibition, K anazawa, Japan

Selected Exhibitions

2021 Solo exhibition Palette Experiment, KUNST ARZT, Kyoto, Japan

2022 Solo exhibition Knitted Kitchen, New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan

2023 Solo exhibition WHEN / WHERE, Galleria PONTE, Kanazawa, Japan

2025 Two-person exhibition with Yuri Fukuoka, Gifu, Japan

2025 Group exhibition with Akane Endo (lacquer artist), Kanazawa, Japan

Various exhibitions at Spiral (Tokyo), Wako Ginza (Tokyo), and other venues in Japan and abroad

Artist

Works