Kentaro Kawabata

Kentaro Kawabata - HIGH ART
Kentaro Kawabata's sculptures exceed the ordinary, inviting viewers into a realm where craftsmanship converges with alchemy, tradition mingles with experimentation, and the tangible coexists with the surreal.

His objects are a result of extensive experimentation and knowledge within and around the medium of ceramics. Uncanny biomorphic forms are born through a delicate balance of intricate hand modeling and volatile alchemical processes. From submerging silvers in sulphuric water to firing embedded glass in porcelain, Kawabata has spawned a deeply distinctive visual and material vocabulary grounded in archaic and quotidian antecedents. The artworks flourish a vibrant organic vitality, evoking nature’s own regenerative processes and endless recompositions of matter. Kawabata’s artworks not only represent a celebration of the medium but also serve as a testament to the endless possibilities that unfold when an artist navigates the intersection of skill, innovation, and a profound connection to the intrinsic dynamism of the natural world.

Kentaro Kawabata was born in 1976 in Saitama, Japan. He currently lives and works in Gifu, Japan. Recent solo exhibitions include: Mendes Wood DM, Sao Paolo, Brazil; Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles, USA; Sokyo Gallery, Kyoto, Japan; Tokyo Gallery Utsuwakan, Kyoto, Japan; Gallery Kurimoto, Nigata, Japan. Group exhibitions include: Rodeo Gallery, Athens, Greece; Mai 36, Zurich, Switzerland; Rakusuitei Museum of Art, Toyama, Japan; Musee-Tomo, Tokyo, Japan; Ibaraki Ceramic Art museum, Japan; Tenri Kultur Werkstatt, Cologne, Germany; Art Gummi Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan; Crafts Gallery National, Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan.

Selected Works

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Exhibitions

Press

Curriculum Vitæ

b. 1976 in Saitama, Japan
Lives and works in Gifu, Japan

SOLO AND DUO EXHIBITIONS

2023
Butterfly Joint, Mendes Wood DM, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2022
Yours Truly, High Art, Paris, France
2021
Bumpy, Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles, USA
Knee Bridge, Sokyo Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
2020
Isyoken gallery vol.10: Kentaro Kawabata, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Gifu, Japan
2019
Kentaro Kawabata, Gallery Utsuwakan, Kyoto, Japan
2018
Kentaro Kawabata, Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles, USA
Inside out, Silver Shell, Tokyo, Japan
2017
Hello from the Hollows 2, Sokyo Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
2016
Kentaro Kawabata, Art Biotop, Tochigi, Japan
2015
Organ, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2014
Kentaro Kawabata, Silver Shell, Tokyo, Japan

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022
Le Biscuit à Soupe, High Art, Arles, France
Push + Pull, Mai 36, Zurich, Switzerland
2021
Vessels, Sized, Los Angeles, USA
Emblazoned World, Bel Ami, Los Angeles, USA
See Change, Ratio 3, San Francisco, USA
2017
Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, Korea
2016
PUNK, Rakusuitei Museum of Art, Toyama, Japan
Even if contemporary art ended, Sokyo Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE CRAFTS The Kikuchi Kanjitsu Prize II, Musee-Tomo, Tokyo, Japan
2015
8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo,Japan
2014
Phenomenon of Contemporary Ceramics, Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Japan
2013
Traditional and Contemporary, Historical Museum, Pavlikeni, Bulgaria
Two Billion Light -Years of Solitude, Kanazawa Art Gummi , Ishikawa, Japan
2012
Ceramics Now, Galateea Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2010
Secret Relationship between Ceramics and Colors, Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan
2009
The Power of Decoration a Viewpoint on Contemporary Kagei, Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
The Gyeonggi World Ceramic Biennale, Gyeonggi, Korea

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