The internationally acclaimed artist Matsuda Yuriko (b. 1943) has expanded the possibilities of polychrome porcelain decoration through her exuberant and highly imaginative ceramic practice. Working primarily with hand-built porcelain forms, she creates playful, sculptural works infused with a sense of wit, elegance, and contemporary flair. Drawing inspiration from subjects as varied as fruit, vegetables, landscapes, feet, legs, and the human body, Matsuda envelops each surface in densely layered decorative patterns. Rooted in traditional techniques and aesthetics—including iro-e, kinrande, Kutani ware, and sometsuke—her works engage deeply with themes of nature, ornament, surface, and the body. As a student, she trained under some of the most influential ceramic masters of the twentieth century, including Tomimoto Kenkichi (1886–1963), Kondō Yūzō (1902–85), Fujimoto Nōdō (1919–92), and Kiyomizu Rokubei VII (1922–2006).

In this catalogue, she explores the timeless motif of Mount Fuji with a playful, contemporary spirit. Here, the iconic peak is transformed through a whimsical lens, its surface alive with scrolling floral patterns inspired by the decorative style of Ogata Kenzan 尾形乾山 (1663–1743). In her celebrated Mt. Fuji sculptures, stylized blossoms shimmer with touches of silver and gold alongside the five classic Kutani colors—blue, green, purple, red, and yellow—bringing vibrancy, movement, and delight to each form. Dialogues surrounding body, fashion, and identity also emerge in works featured in this exhibition, particularly In Her Shoes (2008).

For decades, Matsuda has created imaginative porcelain works that blur the boundary between sculpture and function. Drawing on traditional Chinese and Japanese decorative vocabularies, her richly ornamented surfaces celebrate the expressive power, pleasure, and vitality of decoration.

Biography

1943 Born in Ashiya, Hyogo

1966 B.A., Kyoto City College of Fine Arts, Ceramics major

1968 Graduate studies, Kyoto City College of Fine Arts, Graduate degree

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

1983 Japanese National Ceramics Exhibition, juried shows '73, '79, '81

1986 Kazuo Yagi Award, Contemporary Ceramic Exhibition '87, '88, '89

1988 Asahi Contemporary Crafts Exhibition, invitational '92, 2001

1990 New Artist Award, Yamanashi Museum of Art

1991 Gold Medal Award, International Competition of Ceramic Art (juried show), Faenza, Italy

1992 International Invitational contemporary Exhibition of Ceramic Art, Merit Award, Taipei,

Taiwan

1993 Contemporary Ceramic Works “UTSUWA,” Saitama Museum

1996 “New Expression in Porcelain: Developments in the 1990s,”

The National Museum of Modern Art, Crafts Gallery, Tokyo

1996 “Contemporary Ceramic: Japanese Women,”

Japan Information and Culture Center,Washington, DC, USA

1997 Fuji-Seoul (Horizontal and Vertical) “A Vision of Eight Crafts- Japanese and Korean

Artists,” Seoul, Korea

1998 NHK "Calling on Ceramists” Studio Visits '98

2000 3 & 3 Barcelona-Japón,Barcelona, Spain

2001 World Ceramic Exposition 2001, Korea (juried show)

Invitational Exhibition of Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2001, Korea

2002 “The Legacy of Modern Ceramic Art,” Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu

2005-06　Contemporary Clay Japanese Ceramics for the New Century,” Museum of Fine Arts,

Boston, Japan Society in New York City

2007-2012　Soaring Voices- Contemporary Japanese Women Ceramic Artists,” The Shigaraki

Ceramic Cultural Park, Muzee National de Ceramique, Sevres, France (traveling USA)

2009-2011 The 10th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition (a traveling exhibition

organized by the University of Hawaii Art Gallery)

2011 Japan x Faenza Pottery Modern, Italian Cultural Institute

2014 “What is pottery?” A Japan Ceramics Network joint exhibition

2016 Women artists in Yamanashi, Yamanashi Prefecture Museum

Solo Exhibitions (1968～2015)

Gallery Nippon (Tokyo), Ikebukuro Seibu Gallery, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Gallery, Galerie

Pousse (Tokyo), Masuda Studio (Tokyo), Kandori (Tokyo), Hankyu Gallery (Kobe,

Umeda), Estudio Peironcely (Madrid,Spain), Gallery Dai ichi arts (New York, USA),

NaNo-rium (Yamanashi Prefecture)

Public Collection

Japan Foundation, Yamanashi Museum of Art, Takamatsu City Museum

The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, National Museum of History, Taiwan

Denver Museum of Art, Colorado, USA

Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu

Barcelona Ceramic Museum, Barcelona, Spain

Spencer Museum of Art, Kansas, USA

Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut, USA

The Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA

Hawaii Foundation of Culture