YUJI UEDA (b. Shigaraki, Japan, 1975) is a ceramic artist based in Shigaraki, a town in western Japan known as one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan. Born to a family of tea farmers, Ueda grew up surrounded by ceramics. After studying under Yasuhisa Kohyama, a leading figure in the field of Shigaraki ware, Ueda built his own anagama kiln in his hometown and started his own practice.
Ueda’s practice is guided by his keen interest in the texture and materiality of the clay native to Shigaraki and Iga. While oftentimes retaining a vestige of functionality as vessels, Ueda’s works are marked by unusual and unexpected forms resulting from his constant experimentation. The cracked surfaces and peeled-off layers powerfully evoke the raw quality of the clay. He further explores the expressive potential of the clay by combining it with materials and tools found at the hardware store. The unique properties of the soil of Shigaraki, for example, generate the beauty in color present in Ueda’s works. Much like a sunset, through which light filters through particles of chemical compounds in the air, Ueda has achieved an alchemical process that fixes these interactions for the viewer to behold. Despite the seemingly spontaneous quality of his works, Ueda’s practice is not entirely reliant on elements of chance, but on a carefully orchestrated meeting of materials and heat. His experiments are equally guided by his effort to achieve what he envisions prior to production. Ueda’s works are thus the result of a practice that both embraces spontaneity with diverse materiality and intervenes with juxtapositions in the natural process.