Kitamura Junko 北村純子 b. 1956
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Vertiginous, geometric, and sculptural are words ascribed to Kitamura Junko (b. 1956)’s style. Trained under the important Sodeisha pioneer Suzuki Osamu, Kitamura’s sense for abstract, sculptural form shines through in her functional vessels. She also studied under the Living National Treasure, Kondō Yutaka (1932-1983), whose sense for surface pattern is palpable in her work. Her intricate patterns take from Korean Buncheong pottery techniques, which reached its zenith in popularity during the Joseon dynasty. Her work, like Buncheong pottery, features concentric, dotted, impressed surface design inlaid with a viscous white slip but interpreted using a contemporary style. At the same time, it recalls the extensive history of decorative arts in Japan, taking after textile patterns in the intricacy of the linear designs made in a scrolling pattern across the surface of her monochromatic clay.
She is an internationally celebrated artist whose works are held in the collections of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Brooklyn Museum, the British Museum, the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian among several others in Japan and internationally.