‘Akiko Hirai’s work is unmistakable. At twenty paces, her moon jars and faceted bottles betray her hand. Those familiar with her work will be able to picture in their mind’s eye some of her most celebrated pieces – vessels and moon jars covered with a distinctive pale blue-green running glaze. Flowing over the encrusted additions to her jars, the glaze is reminiscent of a stream trickling over pebbles and boulders, or ice within a glacier. Watery and liquid, these pieces are fluid and dynamic.
Hirai’s new body of work remains as distinctive as ever but demonstrates a deft and confident expansion into new territory – a shift from water to earth. Rather than the blue-green tones and high gloss glaze used previously, these pieces are paler, browner and more matte, appearing dry and in some cases almost desiccated. Most importantly, they are still and quiet. To look at them is to feel instantly calmer and more grounded.’ Helen Ritchie, Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Applied Arts, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, March 2025
Join Max Waterhouse for a guided tour of Akiko Hirai’s major exhibition of ceramics at Goldmark in Uppingham.
