New year, new website & a new show!

Hello and Happy New Year!

A little note to let you know, I will no longer be updating this Kamenendo blog - I've transferred all my posts to date across to my new website and will be blogging from there going forward:

www.kenjiuranishi.com.au 

I hope you can stop by every now and again!

There you'll also find out more about my upcoming show at the Museum of Brisbane opening in February 2016 called 'Momentary'.

Mata ne!

Group show in Melbourne!

My work is currently showing in a lovely ceramic exhibition called 'Interplay - aesthetic charm, material challenge' in Melbourne at the Malvern Artists' Society Gallery (1297 High Street Malvern, Victoria). It's on until 10 May 2015 so if you're around, please check it out! 

Olsen Irwin

Very exciting exhibition opening is on tonight in Sydney. 

Contemporary Clay - Featuring Prue Venables, Stephen Bird, Kenji Uranishi, Titania Henderson, Neville French, Gwyn Hassen Pigott, Milton Moon, Dan Elborne

April 1, 2015

Material Evidence 

Ceramics featuring Sandy Lockwood and Yasuhisa Kohyama

Back from Arita & excited about 2015!

Happy New Year! I'm back in Brisbane and part two of my arts residency is complete. I would like to thank Asialink and Arts Queensland for giving me the special opportunity to spend time in Arita in Saga Prefecture, Japan. The residency was a very meaningful time, full of learning and discovering and finding new friends. This opportunity gave me the basis of a long-term relationship and ongoing collaboration with Arita manufacturers and local artists.  

The first two images below are the very first results of my collaboration with Kourakugama, my host for the residency. I used vintage decals of plants including pine, bamboo and plum and designed clouds, rain, flags and cranes with them. Getting through the process of making decals is very hard and I have a huge respect for people who are working in this area in the kiln. I've also included a number of images of people I met, things I made and places I visited during part two of the residency - I hope you enjoy them and if you're going to be at the Stepping Up conference in Canberra in July, I'll look forward to sharing with you about my experiences along with fellow Arita-lovers Shin Koyama, Vipoo Srivilasa and Kirsten Coelho in a panel moderated by Cory Taylor.  

This Asialink Arts Residency Project was supported by Arts Queensland.

 

Arita 2014 No10

I drafted this post just before I left Japan in May when part one of my Asialink residency in Arita was coming to an end...but I was so busy that I didn't get around to posting it. Looking over it again brought back some beautiful memories so I thought...better late than never! 

My friends and I went to Onta recently. Onta is a beautiful little traditional potters village in Oita Prefecture in Kyushu, and the people who live there are very impressive. They make clay and pots and wood fire them and maintain the distinct Onta style throughout the whole village. It felt like they were actually making pots "for" their village. On the bottom of the pots it only says "Onta" - no other personal maker's mark. Beautiful. I became a fan of this place.   

My Asialink Arts Residency Project is supported by Arts Queensland.

Exhibition!

A selection of works, some that I made in Arita, Japan as part of my Asialink Residency, will be on the show at Andrew Baker Art Dealer. The opening is on 5 December so please drop by if you are around.

My Asialink Arts Residency Project is supported by Arts Queensland. 

Arita 2014 No.9

I had a special day today outside of the studio, because the very talented Kirsten Coelho from South Australia is now visiting in Arita. We went to Tatuya Tutui's studio with Tsuru-san - she is an amazing person to show you around Arita - she knows so much about the town! Tatuya kindly showed  us how to do wheel throwing Arita style and also he let us have a go too. Amakusa clay was very nice clay to work with and we had a lovely chat with him. It was so special!