In Conversation | Koichiro Isezaki

June 3, 2025 by Jay

Tradition is vital in art, requiring each generation to reinterpret it. Introduced by master potter Jim Keeling, Koichiro Isezaki and Mike Goldmark talk about Isezaki’s life in pottery. They discuss the possible pressures of being from a long line of great potters, including a Living National Treasure, and how family support has enabled him to forge his own path and come to the art of pottery in his own time.

Isezaki’s move to America, to study under Jeff Shapiro, brought cultural challenges but also opportunities for growth and experimentation. Isezaki explains that whilst finding a unique artistic voice is crucial, it is something to develop organically, focusing on past experiences and future aspirations without strict goals, and valuing the input of previous generations.

Exhibition | Koichiro Isezaki

June 3, 2025 by Jay

Join Max, as he walks us around Koichiro Isezaki’s latest major UK exhibition at Goldmark in Uppingham.

Koichiro Isezaki, born 1974, is the son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and is the rising star of the Isezaki family, which included his grandfather Yozan Isezaki, one of the first generation of great Bizen potters in the 20th century. Koichiro Isezaki studied at Tokyo Sculptural University and then apprenticed with the Jeff Shapiro, who had been mentored by Jun Isezaki. In 2022 Isezaki was awarded the prestigious Japan Ceramic Society Award.

‘Clay and its makers have a special relationship. For Kôichiro what resonates are traditions and strategically breaking free from those traditions; frames of reference (kata) and freedom within those frames. Ceramics, he told me, need to be healthy in and of themselves and enjoyed. There must be a reason for making them, and people need to respond to the works. Translation or repetition is not healthy for the form or the practitioner. He is not trying to make interesting shapes, rather he is attempting to be present for the process, and this is reflected in the final form. For Kôichiro the highest compliment is not specific praise for an individual work but just overall positive reaction to the medium.’

Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere
Research Director, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia

Koichiro Isezaki: Presence

February 23, 2024 by Jay

Recently in conversation with Izesaki Kôichiro (b. 1974) discussing his first solo exhibition at Goldmark Gallery, he alluded to the experience of working with clay as being ‘one of presence with the clay and of being present with and through the process.’ Kôichiro feels clay is a living entity (ikimono) and he works with its … Read more

Documentary | Koichiro Isezaki: Bizen Born

June 13, 2024February 23, 2024 by Jay

Koichiro Isezaki: Bizen Born is a captivating new Goldmark documentary that delves into the life and work of Koichiro Isezaki, the son of renowned potter and National Living Treasure, Jun Isezaki. Filmed on location in the ancient pottery town of Bizen, Japan, we follow Koichiro as he meticulously crafts pieces for his inaugural solo exhibition … Read more

Fire, Wood and Clay: What’s in an Aesthetic?

January 31, 2023January 24, 2023 by Jay

There can be no denying it: there’s something about wood-firing that produces special pots. But what is it about the wood-fired aesthetic (if there even is one) that captivates? Where does our appreciation for it begin? And, perhaps most important of all: is it still relevant today? Is the wood-fired aesthetic right for our age? … Read more

Critic’s Choice | Jim Keeling on Koichiro Isezaki

June 15, 2024November 11, 2021 by Jay

Watch Jim Keeling from Whichford Pottery as he talks about the work of Koichiro Isezaki. He talks about the respect that Japanese potters have for their materials and the Anagama tradition in Bizen pottery. Keeling shows us how the path of the flame, over a 7 day wood firing, is used to decorate Isezaki’s unglazed pots and how he makes his distinctive ‘collapsed’ pots. We are treated to footage shot earlier this year at Koichiro Isezaki’s studio in Japan by our We Love Clay team.

In Focus | A Brief History of Modern Japanese Ceramics

October 2, 2020June 15, 2016 by Abu Morshed Julash

For Japan, the history of ceramics is the history of its belief systems, its cultural values – to a greater or lesser extent, it is the history of its people.