Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan

Radical Clay celebrates thirty-six contemporary ceramic artists—all female—represented by works selected from the private collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz. All have explored the technical and conceptual possibilities of clay. The works in this exhibition are inventive and expressive, at times mysterious or even shocking. The artists who created them are among the most technically accomplished contemporary ceramists. Some began their careers several decades ago while others started more recently—and over the past fifty years they have, each in her distinctive way, produced sculpture that pushes the physical limits of the medium.

Women have long been involved in the production of ceramics in Japan. Within that male-dominated tradition, their participation was largely confined to menial aspects of the process, with access to materials and kilns severely restricted. But since 1970 many more women—including most of those represented here—have been accepted into prestigious art academies, leading to an explosion of work that is less bound by convention. These artists often create forms that emulate the infinite variety of nature, and some of them have developed painstaking, pioneering decorative methods.

“Examples by 36 individuals, from groundbreaking senior figures to emerging stars, positively flabbergast. This is work that must be seen to be believed.” — Chicago Tribune

Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan is organized by the Art Institute of Chicago.