History

Ken Matsuzaki: “Elemental” feature film about Japanese potter

24 Comments / Japanese Ceramics /

Ken Matsuzaki is a Japanese potter working from Mashiko who enjoys an international reputation. He was apprenticed to the late Tatsuzo Shimaoka (National Living Treasure) who in turn had been apprenticed to Shoji Hamada. Matsuzki's work can be seen in some of the world's most prestigious private collections.

This 45 minute film shows him throwing in his workshop and features unique footage of him firing his Anagama kiln, with the help of British potter Phil Rogers who commentates on the process. The film ends with Matsuzaki's 2007 major exhibition of pots at the Goldmark Gallery in Uppingham, Rutland. You can visit us online at

To view latest work by Matsuzaki visit his goldmark website here:

You can buy a copy of this film on DVD for just £10 click here:

Biography – Ken Matsuzaki was born in 1950 in Tokyo. Growing up Matsuzaki's life was filled with art and culture and his family's influence began to show when, around the age of 16, Matsuzaki developed an interest in ceramics. In 1972, after graduating from Tamagawa University's College of Arts, he began a 3 year apprenticeship with (National Living Treasure) Tatsuzo Shimaoka.

Nearing the end of his apprenticeship Matsuzaki asked Shimaoka if he would consider extending it for another 2 years, whilst he learned to develop his own style, and began creating his own motifs and palette of glazes that he would use for the next 15 years. Today, Matsuzaki has exhibited widely in Japan, America and the UK and his work is held in major galleries worldwide.

What is Goldmark?

A family business started by Mike Goldmark, we've been selling art from the Goldmark Gallery in Uppingham, UK for over 40 years and hold over 50,000 items in stock. Explore a wide range of the very best art and ceramics available to you through our website where you'll also find scholarship pages, books, online catalogues and even GoldmarkTV! Enjoy your visit here:

An introduction to Ming blue and white porcelain | Curator’s Corner S5 Ep6 #CuratorsCorner

29 Comments / Ming Dynasty /

The Ming Dynasty is famed for its blue and white porcelain, which took over European dinning tables thanks to trade with the Dutch, Portuguese and English. However, you might not know exactly how to tell the difference between a Hongwu and a Longqing piece. If you don't, never fear! Curator Jessica Harrison-Hall has you and the entire Ming Dynasty covered!

#CuratorsCorner #MingPorcelain #ChinaFromChina

Curator's Corner Playlist:

A Legacy in Clay: The Ceramics of Pablo Picasso in Return to Earth

1 Comment / Picasso Ceramics /

Presented September 21, 2013.

'Pablo Picasso: Life with Art' – Dakin Hart, Senior Curator, The Noguchi Museum, New York

In this presentation Dakin Hart explores Picasso’s transition to ceramic practice after World War Two. Tracing the personal, social and political factors which lead to Picasso’s desire to create objects which merged both sculpture and painting to create a visual legacy which would withstand the test of time.

Organized to coincide with the public opening of the exhibition 'Return to Earth: Ceramic Sculpture of Fontana, Melotti, Miró, Noguchi, and Picasso, 1943–1963', this symposium offers a number of new perspectives on the often-overlooked, yet ground-breaking work in fired clay of some of the most important artists of the 20th century.

Watch other presentation from the 'Return to Earth' Symposium:
'Joan Miró and the Artigases: A Phantasmagoric World of Living Monsters' – Jed Morse, Chief Curator, Nasher Sculpture Center

'Isamu Noguchi Ceramics: A Kind of Antisculpture' – Catherine Craft, Adjunct Assistant Curator for Research and Exhibitions, Nasher Sculpture Center

'A View from Today': Panel Discussion

Since 2006, Dakin Hart has been a prolific independent curator and researcher. Recent projects have included an unconventional retrospective of work by the American Fluxus, mail, and book artist Davi Det Hompson, on view at the ZieherSmith Gallery, New York, through March 2, 2013; and 'Sculpture in So Many Words: Text Pieces 1960–1980', which was presented at the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas in 2013. From 2007–2010, he worked with Picasso scholar John Richardson to develop a series of exhibitions for Gagosian Gallery exploring aspects of Picasso’s career. From 2006–2007, he was research assistant for Mr. Richardson on the third volume of the latter’s ongoing biography of Picasso, 'A Life of Picasso Vol. III: The Triumphant Years'. He has contributed a catalogue essays on Picasso, for the 'Return to Earth'. Dakin Hart has served as Assistant Director, Nasher Sculpture Center (2002–2004); Director of Arts Programs and Artistic Director, Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, CA (2000–2002); and Director of the Lucas Artist Residency Program, the third oldest artists’ community in the U.S. (2002). He was Assistant to the Director of The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from 1995–2000. Dakin Hart earned his B.A. in English, with a minor in art history, from Georgetown University, and an M.A. in the history of art from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where he is presently working to complete his PhD (dissertation in process; projected 2013).

The Nasher Sculpture Center’s ongoing 360 Speaker Series features conversations and lectures on the ever-expanding definition of sculpture. Guests are invited to witness first-hand accounts of the inspiration behind some of the world’s most innovative artwork, architecture and design.

Find out more about the 360 Speaker Series and view presentation by past speakers at
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The 360 videography project is supported by Suzanne and Ansel Aberly. This support enables digital recording of all 360 Speaker Series programs and the creation of an online archive for learners of all ages.

Is my shard Medieval or Post Medieval? Help!

34 Comments / Medieval Ceramics /

Some help with dividing green glazed whiteware sherds into Medieval and Post Medieval.
To see hundreds of other pottery finds, and share your own for ID, join these Facebook groups –
Thames Foreshore Finds –
The River Thames Mudlarking Finds –

and if you like the metal stuff there's loads of that too!
Also check out a pottery only Facebook site for UK finds –

Looking Back at Hungate – Medieval Pottery

Leave a Comment / Medieval Ceramics /

In this video, Dr Ailsa Mainman gives a talk on the different types of pottery found during the Hungate excavations.

From the autumn of 2006 to the end of 2011 a team from York Archaeological Trust investigated the archaeology of the Hungate area of York, as part of the regeneration of an often overlooked corner of the city.

Discover what was unearthed for yourself when you visit DIG: An Archaeological Adventure.