Painted gray glaze tea bowl Nobuhito Nakaoka

Height: 9.8cm Width: 13.0cm

The colored ash-glazed tea bowl is a product of Nobuhito Nakaoka's outstanding technique and unique aesthetic sense. This tea bowl is made by skillfully combining pigments such as gosu and manganese with ash glaze, creating a unique and beautiful color and texture. The glazing and firing are carried out in the workshop of a potter who has inherited the traditions of Tamba.

Nakaoka's current work focuses on carbonization, which is done in a gas kiln surrounded by bricks, and glazing with ash glazes; his "Colored Ash Glaze" series in particular is attracting attention, as it combines traditional Tamba ware techniques with his own unique creativity.

Tradition and innovation of Tamba ware

Tanba ware glazes include natural glaze, ash glaze, red clay glaze, candy glaze, white glaze, and earthen ash glaze. In particular, the white glaze is used for drawing on a cylinder (itchin), one of the most representative decorative techniques of Tanba ware, and the "Ebi Tokkuri" is famous for it. Other traditional Tanba ware decorative techniques include flowing glaze, which is applied by slowly turning the potter's wheel, and suminagashi, which is applied by dripping and shaking iron glaze while the white glaze is moving.

In Tanba ware, which can be considered a museum of traditional techniques, Nakaoka created the "Colored Ash Glaze" series, which combines pigments such as gosu and manganese with ash glaze. The ash glaze is made by mixing oak ash and earth ash, and is adjusted to flow well. It is finished with a Vidro-type glaze similar to natural glaze.

The culmination of technology and trial and error

He had been researching ash glazes at an industrial testing facility in Kyoto, but after three years of trial and error since going independent, he established a technique of dissolving gosu and manganese in the ash glaze and then pouring it in thin stripes. Although he had an idea of ​​what he wanted to achieve at the industrial testing facility, it took a lot of time to find the right combination of ash glaze with Tamba clay, and to adjust the firing temperature and time.

The firing temperature for colored ash-glazed tea bowls is 1,240 degrees. The journey to perfecting the glaze tone has only just begun.

An elegant and sophisticated tea bowl

The colored ash-glazed tea bowl is characterized by its elegant and sophisticated design. The vivid colors of the gosu and manganese blend with the matte texture of the ash glaze to deeply impress the viewer. This tea bowl will make your tea ceremony even more special, and you will experience new beauty and functionality every time you use it.

The colored ash-glazed tea bowl by Nobuhito Nakaoka is a masterpiece created by utilizing his own creativity and techniques while respecting the traditions of Tamba ware. Its beauty and practicality will make it a treasured possession for a lifetime.

Profile of Nobuhito Nakaoka

1977 Born in Osaka
1996 After graduating from high school, he studied under Tanba ware artist "Nishibata Tadashi"
2001 Graduated from Kyoto City Industrial Research Institute Ceramics Department
2003: Assigned to Saint Vincent as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers
2005 Term ended. Returned to Japan.
2006 Became independent in Tachikui, Sasayama City

Selected Works Awards
2010 Selected for the Hagi Grand Prize Exhibition of Contemporary Ceramics
2011 Kobe Biennale 2011 Contemporary Ceramic Art Competition Selected
2012 Selected for the 29th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize Exhibition of Tea Ceremony Art (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020)
Selected for the Itami International Craft Exhibition: Sake Ware and Sake Cup Stand
2013 30th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize, Tea Ceremony Formation Exhibition, Excellence Award Kobe Biennale 2013, Contemporary Ceramic Art Competition, Semi-Grand Prize 31st Chozo Prize Tokoname Ceramic Art Exhibition, Selected Contemporary Ceramic Art Hagi Grand Prize Exhibition III, Honorable Mention
2014 10th International Ceramic Exhibition Mino International Ceramic Competition Selected
2015 Kobe Biennale 2015 Contemporary Ceramic Art Competition Selected 32nd Chozo Prize Tokoname Ceramic Art Exhibition Selected
2017 Selected for the 10th Contemporary Tea Ceramics Exhibition
2018 Selected for the Japan Ceramic Association Encouragement Award Kansai Exhibition
2019 Selected for the 12th Contemporary Tea Ceramics Exhibition
Selected for the 25th Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition Contemporary Ceramic Art Hagi Grand Prize Exhibition V Excellence Award
2020 13th Contemporary Tea Ceramics Exhibition Selected
Selected for the 2021 Kasama Ceramic Art Grand Prize Exhibition

Exhibition
2009 Kobe Art Marche (until 2015)
2010 Kobe Sogo Group Kiln Exhibition
2011 Toyoda Sake Ware Midsummer Cold Sake Cup Exhibition (2012 2013)
Art Salon Yamaki Tanba-yaki "Group Kiln" Three-person Exhibition Hanshin Umeda Main Store New Artist Ceramics Exhibition 2012 Gallery Voice Bowl Shape Sake Ware Toyoda Solo Exhibition Matsuzakaya Nagoya Store Three Young Tanba Artists Exhibition Seibu Shibuya Solo Exhibition Kobe Sogo Group Kiln Exhibition Ie soleil et la lune Nakaoka Nobuto Ceramics Exhibition
2013 Toyoda Sake Ware Solo Exhibition Wad "My Cup Clothes Exhibition" Group Exhibition Art Salon Yamaki Solo Exhibition
2014 Kobe Sogo Group Kiln Exhibition Identity & Originarity ~ Contemporary Ceramics New Collection Exhibition ~ Hyogo Ceramic Art Museum Kochi Daimaru 4-person Exhibition
decoplay (Taiwan) 3-person exhibition at Seibu Shibuya store ~En~
Art Salon Yamaki Solo Exhibition
2015 Ritz Carlton Osaka Group Exhibition Toyoda Sake Ware Solo Exhibition Torin Shungama 3 Person Exhibition Matsuzakaya Nagoya Store Solo Exhibition Tosei Nagaoka Store Group Exhibition lesoleil et la lune Solo Exhibition Deco play (Taiwan) Group Exhibition Takashimaya Yokohama Store Group Exhibition
2016 Contemporary Art - Life & Art - "Ceramics that add color to your life, tableware" Higashihiroshima Municipal Museum of Art Hankyu Umeda Solo Exhibition "Nobuhito Nakaoka's 10th Anniversary Exhibition"
MIZEN FINE ART Tea Ceremony Exhibition (France)
Kakiden Gallery "TANBA: Tea Ceremony Exhibition by 10 Artists"
"Rencontre: Intersecting Contemporary Ceramic Collection" Invited to exhibit at the TEA BOUL Exhibition of Gyeongsangnam-Do, Hyogo Ceramic Art Museum (Korea)
2017 Gallery Voice "Today's Tableware, Tomorrow's Tableware"
REVELATION Art Fair 2017 at the Grand Parisi (France)
Fukuoka Mitsukoshi Solo Exhibition Kakiden Gallery "Four Ideas Pottery Exhibition"
2018 Deco play (Taiwan) Solo Exhibition Hankyu Umeda Main Store Solo Exhibition Kakiden Gallery Tamba Exhibition Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store "Feature on Tea Bowls by Contemporary Artists"
Nagoya Sakae Mitsukoshi Solo Exhibition
2019 Ginza Mitsukoshi Tea Ceremony Two-Person Exhibition Sake Ware Toyoda Solo Exhibition (Kyoto)
Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store "Special Feature on Tea Bowls by Contemporary Artists"
2020 Solo Exhibition at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store "Ultramarine and Lyricism"
2021 Solo Exhibition at Hankyu Umeda Main Store Solo Exhibition at Fukuoka Mitsukoshi
2022 Contemporary Ceramics Hagi Grand Prize VI Selected

2023 Solo Exhibition at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store "Exploring Form"

2024 Fukuoka Mitsukoshi Solo Exhibition Kyoto Takashimaya Solo Exhibition

Public Collections, Hyogo Prefectural Ceramic Art Museum, Tanabe Museum of Art, Yamaguchi Prefectural Hagi Museum of Art