The exhibition offers 42 works by 28 artists. It is the logical continuation of the exhibition of modern Japan ceramists that was displayed at the National art Museum of the Republic of Belarus in 2004.

The exhibition presents avant-garde trend in Japanese ceramics art. Many of the artists, whose works are exhibited, studied and worked in the USA. That influenced forming of particular style which combines contemporary approach to form with traditional Japanese understanding of material.

The core of the exhibition is works of artists who follow the traditions of the “Sodeisha” Kyoto group. They regard clay as the media permitting to create not only utilitarian things, but also “high” art objects. Thematically the exhibition consists of four parts: “tableware”, “figurative”, “geometrical” and “organic” forms.

In the late 40s – early 50s of the 20^th century the art of ceramics in Japan entered a new stage of its development. A great number of large schools and little studios appeared at that time. Each of them strived to express its own philosophical views and developed a conception of “new” art. These are the works of the founders of Sodeisha – Kumakura Junkichi (1920–1985) “Melody”, Suzuki Osamu(1926–2001) “Horse” and “Child with a Red Faсe”.

The next generation of artists who worked in the 1960s–1980s used the variety of the language of plastic forms. They experimented with unglazed ceramics and different firing temperatures. The influence of contemporary American and European art is apparent in the works of Yanagihara Mutsuo (1934), Koie Ryoji (1936), although they preserve national originality.

The idea of “Japanese” taste became a leading idea for many artists. It is implemented in the series of Nakamura Kimpei’s works: “Japanese Style”, Sasayama Tadayasu “Red Mandala House” and Yanagihara Mutsuo “Crossing Wind”.

The young generation of masters – Imura Toshimi (1961), Maeda Tsuyoshi (1964) – develops ideas of “Sodeisha”. They prefer simple forms, straight lines and refined decor.

The exhibition is loaned to the National art Museum of the Republic of Belarus by the Japan Fund, which was established in 1972 and organised exhibitions of the Japanese art abroad.

                                                                               junior researcher of NAM RB