Kazuya Ishida

As a child, Kazuya struggled to find his unique self, and yearned for a life outside the village of Bizen to discover more about the wider world. At the age of 15, he left home for Kobe, an international port city, for his middle school education. The three years in Kobe was enough for him to learn how special his home village really is. After his graduation, Kazuya implored the Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki to let him study as his apprentice. Learning fundamental Bizen Pottery techniques from the master, Kazuya then moved to the UK to get further out of his comfort zone. From 2015 to 2018, while teaching his skills and Japanese culture to students at Oxford University, he also absorbed the techniques and aesthetic sensibilities of modern Western art which he then began introducing into his own Bizen Pottery. Rahou, which means ‘spiral,’ is an outstanding technique expressing the beauty of centrifugal force in Bizen Pottery, and was inspired by his experience in the UK.

Background

1986　Born in Bizen, Okayama

2007-2010　Studied under Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki

2011　Worked at Kigbeare Pottery (Devon, UK)

2012　Worked at Whichford Pottery (Cotswold, UK)

2013　Opened his studio in Bizen

2015-2018　Artist Residency at Oxford University

2019　Artist Residency at Star Works (North Carolina, US)

Awards & Exhibitions

2010　 Award winning for National Cultural Art Exhibition

2013　 Attended the Estonian International Artist Exchange

2015　 Award winning for Japan Traditional Art Craft Exhibition