Kohei Nakamura 1948

Kohei Nakamura (b. 1948), third son of the robust Kanazawa ceramicist family headed by Nakamura Baizan, is a master at updating classical masterpieces to match a modern point of view. Immersing his ideas amongst artistic movements from Rocco and Baroque to the ceramics of Japan’s rinpa school of art, Nakamura’s tea bowls and sculptures reference great cultural touchstones with intriguing twists; kintsugi-like Ido-style, awhite-glaze dipped kohiki, and celadon of an atypical pigmentation are prime examples of Nakamura’s mastery. 

"How contemporary a shape is is less significant to me than how contemporary its underlying idea is," says Nakamura in a remark that seems to illustrate his current preoccupation well. "Today, we are increasingly awakening to a reappraisal of Japanese culture, or a return to the classical, perhaps in part to counterbalance modernism. As a ceramic artist, I consider quoting--rather than copying--old pottery and ceramics as my way of conveying their significance."