Shoji Hamada

Ken Matsuzaki: “Elemental” feature film about Japanese potter

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:

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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:

Living Arts of Japan

"Living Arts of Japan" is a film about seven distinguished and prominent Japanese artists of the 20th century, each working in a different medium:
Shoji Hamada, potter
Kenkichi Tomimoto, ceramic art
Kako Moriguchi, Yuzen dyeing (for kimonos)
Gonroku Matsuda, lacquer art
Chikuunsai Tanabe, bamboo weaver
Shiko Munakata, woodblock artist
Seison Maeda, traditional painter
Some of these men, including Hamada, Tomimoto, and Moriguchi, were designated Living National Treasures of Japan. All are seen in the act of creating a piece of work. The music score, consisting primarily of strings and woodwinds, is somber and sometimes eerie. The film speaks of Tomimoto in the present tense, even though he died in 1963, so I'm guessing the film is quite a few years older than I thought it was. It was sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and produced by Sakura Motion Picture Co., Ltd., Tokyo. If you want to see more films like this, please subscribe to the Art of East and West channel.

Randy Johnston | An Expansive Vision – feature film about American potter | GOLDMARK

Our documentary tells the story of one of America's most respected studio potters, Randy Johnston. Set against the backdrop of his picturesque Wisconsin studio, it gives a revealing and moving insight into his artistic journey. Kicking against his family's desire for him to become a doctor, Johnston tells of his early travels to Japan, meeting the great Shoji Hamada and apprenticing to National Living Treasure, Tatsuzo Shimaoka. We are also taken on a visit to the Minnesotan studio of his lifelong mentor and friend, 94 year old American legend, Warren MacKenzie. A deep thinker, Johnston talks about his approach to his working practice and his philosophy on art and teaching.

Having studied with Warren MacKenzie and Hamada's favourite apprentice, Tatsuzo Shimaoka, Johnston is one of the most exciting and innovative potters working in America today. He is recognized internationally as an artist who has pursued functional expression and brought a fresh aesthetic vision to contemporary form, and for his many contributions to the development of wood kiln technology in the United States.

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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 goldmarkart.com where you'll also find scholarship pages, books, online catalogues and even GoldmarkTV! Enjoy your visit here:

At we publish beautiful films and articles for new buyers and seasoned collectors alike, with new content posted every week.

See something you like and you can head over to , our online shop, where we sell an extraordinary range of art and ceramics.

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