Asano’s practice was shaped by early encounters with Mashiko pottery and, most deeply, by his admiration for Kamoda Shōji, whose poetic forms and intricate surface treatments left a lasting impression on him. Drawn to Kamoda’s creative world, Asano eventually moved to Tōno City in Iwate Prefecture, where Kamoda had once worked, immersing himself in the region’s ceramic traditions. Reflecting on this move, he has said, “I don’t think I would have been able to come up with this idea if I had stayed in Mashiko.”

Today, Asano works from a mountain studio overlooking a dam lake. The surrounding landscape is central to his practice: he favors the area’s iron-rich, rough clay, gathers wood locally for his ash glazes, and fires his work through a strong reduction process, adding raw firewood in the final stage. The resulting surfaces are complex and atmospheric, marked by ferric reds, subtle silver tones, and abstract geometric patterns.

This jar embodies Asano’s ability to transform raw minerals into a refined visual language. While some artists regard iron in clay as impure, Asano sees it as essential and full of possibility. On the other hand, silver is considered a pure material, he finds this dichotomy appealing: “Metal covers the surface of the earth. It is a substance essential to human life. That is what makes it interesting.”

Asano’s works are alchemical records of place, material, fire, and Asano’s ongoing search for new ceramic expression deep in the mountains of Iwate.

Artist CV

1944 Born in Miyagi Prefecture

1967 Studied under Daiguji Takahito in Mashiko

1973 Built a kiln in the same town

1976 First solo exhibition at Seibu Department Store Ikebukuro

1988 Built a kiln in Towa Town, Iwate Prefecture

Other solo exhibitions include Minamiaoyama Green Gallery in Tokyo and Yorozutetsugoro Memorial Museum in Towa Town, Iwate Prefecture.

Selected for the Traditional Crafts New Works Exhibition

Selected for Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition

Selected for Japanese Ceramic Art Exhibition