Yuki Nara (1989) was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan. He is the eleventh generation of the Ohi lineage, a respected and well known family of potters specialized in tea ceramics, which dates back to more than 350 years ago. His grandfather, Ohi Chozaemon X, is distinguished with the honor of National Living Treasure, and his father, Ohi Chozaemon XI, with the Order of Cultural Merit from the Emperor of Japan.

Having witnessed the construction of Kanazawa’s 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art when he was younger, he became passionate about architecture and, as the eldest son of the head family, decided not to initially follow in his father’s footsteps. He majored in architecture at the Tokyo Academy of Arts in 2018, and soon after renewing his passion for ceramics, he enrolled in the Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center.  

Nara uses modeling softwares to design each piece which is then sculpted, assembled and fired following his family’s ancestral methods. His series, which he calls “Boneflowers” are contemporary and innovative in their approach, and they stand at the crossroads of architecture and ceramics, balancing tradition and innovation in technology. 

“My aim was to create light and transparent ceramics rather than conventional dignified ceramics, able to absorb its surroundings and retain the special mood of its place, able to be a warm boundary, gently connecting rather than separating, interior and exterior”. Extraordinarily talented and innovative, Yuki Nara has been subject to much attention in Japan and abroad, having exhibited in fairs such as ArtParis, TEFAF, or Design Miami. His works are now in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Nezu Museum in Tokyo. 

"When I think of things, I always think about “boundaries” around them. In other words, searching for the space in “between”. Architecture and Ceramics, Digital and Analog, Inside and Outside, Artifical and Nature, Chaos and Order Hence, it is not something you can clearly differentiate, like 0 and 1 in digital code, like black and white. Rather, an infinity of degrees actually exist between 0 and 1, and an infinite grading of shades exist between black and white. A boundary is not a simple line. Something we could describe as a “fuzzy boundary” can also exist. Once I stop to separate everything by one line, looking through this perspective; arises many silently hidden places. Wondering through the center of the infinite, suffering and struggling - I strive to look for my own place. This open minded adventure much like my own life, is incredibly enjoyable". 


Biography
1989 Born in Kanazawa

Education

2017 Tokyo University of Arts (Architecture), MA 2016 Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center, Diploma
2013 Tokyo University of Arts (Architecture), BA

Exhibitions

2021 Nisoproject, London
2020 Aki Nagasawa Gallery, Tokyo 
2019 Art Central, HongKong; Asia Contemporary Art Show, Hongkong
2018 Art Taipei (Taipei, Taiwan)
2018 Asia Contemporary Art Show (Hongkong)
2018 Les Promesses du Feu (Paris, France)
2017 ASIA NOW (Paris, France)
2017 Design Miami / Art Basel (Basel, Switzerland)
2017 TEFAF Maastricht (Maastricht, Netherlands)
2017 COLLECT (London, UK)
2016 SOFA (Chicago, USA)

Design

2013 Rokkakudo Pudding cup (Collaboration with Asadaya)
2015 Beer Tumbler ‘Kizuna‘ (Collaboration with Nikko)

Architecture

2018 5 elements tearoom (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa)
2018 Shoji Tea Room (Tainan Art Museum, Taiwan)
2020 Node (Kanazawa, Ishikawa)

Collection
Nezu Museum (Tokyo, Japan)

2018 
5 elements tearoom (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa)
Shoji Tea Room (Tainan Art Museum, Taiwan)

NISO

NISO

Artists

Yuki Nara

Yuki Nara