[ Artist Statement ] 

My basic and consistent position in making pottery is "facing tradition". Tradition, although it presents itself as rejecting people's interference and intrusions, is in fact the accumulated "convention" of all the people living in a specific period, so it is possible, in any period, for us to destroy or reconstruct it. Tradition is not fixed or immutable, and the people who "create" it live in the passing waves of generations and in the recurring certainty of fatality. I consider the most important aspect of this fatality to be "otherness" (not necessarily only of human beings), and have observed this aspect in the traditional spirit of Japanese pottery. The relation with the kiln as a tool, with my materials, with myself and with observers -- the relation with "others" -- involves intuiting the margin that is to be shared. For myselfas a creator/presenter, the pursuit of "otherness" amounts to intuiting that margin.

 Ancient Style, Modern Sensibility

[ Biography ] PDF

Makoto Hatori apprenticed to master potter Ken Fujiwara in 1969.
He then earned a degree in sculpture at Nihon University, College of Arts and went on to study technology at the Gifu Prefectural Institute of Ceramics. By 1975, he had established his own studio in Ibaraki（a region in eastern Japan）, where he still works today. Since 1978 the artist has participated in numerous exhibitions in Japan, Italy, Great Britain, New Zealand, Egypt, Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, U.S.A., Croatia, South Africa, Australia, Taiwan, Estonia, Korea, Spain, Hungary. 1992, he taught ceramics at Manchester Metropolitan University Department of Art and Desigin. 1994～1996, Makoto is member of Contemporary Applied Arts in England. 1996,98 Invited to International Ceramic Symposium by Lithuania Panevezyo City Council. 1997 Invited to " Earth and Fire" Craft Potters Association Great Britain. 2006 Invited to " Wodfiring symposium" - Organised program for 2006- by International Ceramics Studio in Hungary. 2007 Invited to International Ceramic Magazine Editors Association (ICMEA) by ICMEA and FuLe International Ceramic Art Museum, Fuping, Shaanxi, China. He has published a number of articles and reviews on ceramic art. His works are included in the collections of South African, Korean, Hungarian, UK museums.
Currently he works as a studio artist.　


Selected International Exhibitions
1993 / 48th Faenza International Ceramic Art Competition, Italy
" Guidepost of Bamboo Sprout "
1994 / Fletcher Challenge Ceramics Award 1994, New Zealand
" Bamboo Sprout "
1994 / The 2nd Cairo International Biennal for Ceramics, Egypt
" Procreation "
1996 / Fletcher Challenge Ceramics Award 1996, New Zealand
" Cluster "
1996 / International Biennial Ceramic Festival in Andenne, Belgium
" Guidepost "
1996 / Salzbrand Keramik '96, Handwerkskammer Koblenz, Germany
Wood-fired Faceted Vases
1997 / Contemporary Art Works of Faith '97, The Fifteen Biennial Exhibition,The Liturgical Art Guild, USA
" Parasitism "
1998 / 4th Cairo International Biennal for Ceramics, Egypt
" Surges "
1998 / Ceramics Biennal 1998, Association of Potters of Southern Africa
" Sa-bi "
1998 / International Ceramist Juried Biennal Exhibition, USA
" Te-n : Heven "
2000 / 5th Cairo International Biennal for Ceramics, Egypt
You-hen Faceted Vase
2000 / 19th Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award, Australia
" Origin "
2000 / The Sixth Taiwan Golden Ceramics Awards, Taiwan
" The Composition of Sa-bi "
2000 / Tallinn Applied Art Triennial 2000, Estonia
" Gou: Karma "
2000 / Altech Ceramics Biennal 2000, Association of Potters of Southern Africa
You-hen Vases
2001 / The1st World Ceramic Biennale 2001 Korea, International Competition
" On the Lmpulse of Curiosity "
2002 / Sidney Myer Fund International Ceramics Award 2002, Australia
" On Instinct "
2002 / Salzbrand Keramik 2002, Handwerkskammer Koblenz, Germany
Altered Vase
2003 / " Two by Two" Gallery of Art, Eastern Washington University, USA 　
" The Root "
2003 / World Ceramic Biennale 2003 Korea, International Competition
" Barley Field "
2003 / 6th International Biennale of Ceramics Manises, Spain
" Ballooning Body "
2004 / 2004 Juried Wood Fire Exhibition, Iowa Hall Gallery, Kirkwood Community College, USA
Twisted Vase
2005 / 1st International Triennial of Silicate Arts, Hungary
Faceted Jar with Lid
2005 / 54th Faenza International Ceramic Art Competition, Italy
" Front Shrine "
2008 / Sidney Myer Fund International Ceramics Award 2008, Australia
" Argue for Arguement's Sake "

Selected Regional Exhibitions
1978, 79, 81, 82 ,85 ,87, 89, 90& 91 / Recent Work of Traditional Art Crafts, Nihon Kogeikai, Japan
1986 / " Asahi " Arts and Crafts Exhibition, Japan
1994 / " Studio Ceramics '94 " Craft Potters Association of Great Britain
Faceted Water Pot
1997 / " Party Pieces " Craft Potters Association of Great Britain
Faceted You-hen Water Pot with Lid, Faceted Jar with Lid, Faceted You-hen Water Pot with Lid,
Faceted Vase with Leg, Long Neck Vase, Faceted Vase with Lump
1999 / " Edge to Edge " Victorian Ceramic Group, Australia
Faceted Jar with Lid


Other Mixed Exhibitions

1995 / Exhibition of Completion Memory, Ibaraki Ceramics Research Center, Ibaraki, Japan
" Landscape "
1995 / " Cans-but with lids" Handwerkskammer Koblenz, Germany
Can with Lid
1997 / World Triennal Exhibition of Small Ceramics, Zagreb, Croatia
Faceted Incense Burner
1999 / " Clay Fever '99 " Victorian Ceramic Group, Australia
Faceted You-hen Vase, You-hen Vase
2000 / " Ibaraki Ceramic's Today " Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of Ceramic Art, Japan
" Matsuri: Festival ", " 0men "
2003 / Keramika Sisak 1700 (International Charitable Exhibition of Art Ceramics), Croatia
" Conflict "
2004 / " Form of Autonomous Ceramics " Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of Ceramic Art, Japan
" Spread "
2005 / International Chawan Exhibition 2005, St. Benardus Abbey in Hemiksem, Belgium
Wood-fired Teabowl with Wadding Mark


Public Collections

1993 / Victoria & Albert Museum (U.K.)
" Ring", Bizen-styly Facetd Mizu-sashi
1993 / Stoke-on-Trent City Museum (U.K.)
" Great Britain "
1993 / Reading City Museum (U.K.)
Bizen-style Mizu-sashi
1994 / Manchester City Art Gallery (U.K.)
You-hen Vase, " Day and Night"
1996 / The British Museum (U.K.)
Bizen-style Long-necked Ovoid Pottery Vase, Bizen-style Cylindrical Lidded Pottery Mizu-sashi,
Bizen-style Wide-mouthed Bulbous Vase
1996 / Panevezys Civic Art Gallery (Lithuania)
" Mizu no Hamon（ Water Ripples )", " Mu "
1997 / The Liturgical Art Guild (U.S.A.)
" Parasitism "
1988 / Panevezys Civic Art Gallery (Lithuania)
" Cloud of Mushroom", " 5 - 7-5 "
1999 / Zanesville Art Center (U.S.A.)
" Te-n : Heaven "
1999 / Victorian Ceramic Group (Australia)
Faceted Jar with Lid
2000 / Pretoria Art Museum, Gauteng (South Africa)
You-hen Vases
2001 / Inchon World Ceramic Center (Korea)
" On the Lmpulse of Curiosity "
2002 / Gallery of Art, Eastern Washington University (U.S.A.)
" The Root "
2003 / World Ceramic Exposition Foundation, Inchon World Ceramic Center (Korea)
" Barley Field "
2004 / Iowa Hall Gallery, Kirkwood Community College ( U.S.A.)
" Twisted Vase "
2005 / Foundation for Contemporary Ceramic Arts ( Hungary )
Faceted Jar with Lid
2005 / Ceramic Study Center ( Belgium )
Bizen-style Teabowls "
2006 / International Ceramics Studio ( Hungary )
" Phse Inversion"
" 2006 Wodfiring symposium "


Critical Essays  [Critical Essays]

" Marketing Conditions in Britain for Japanese Potters through the eyes of a Japanese Potter "
LA CERAMIQUE MODERNE, JOURNAL TECHNIQUE ET ARTISTIQUE MENSUEL, Nombre 337, pp.10-11 ( FEVRIER 1994 ) 22, rue Le Brun -75013 PARIS
" Facing Tradition "
Ceramics Monthly, Vol.43, p.96 ( May 1995 )
" A Potter's Look at Tradition "
Ceramics Monthly, Vol.45, pp.56-59 ( January 1997 )
" Architecture in Potters - Lithuania, Panevezys International Ceramic Symposium -"
CPA News, The Newsletter of the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain, ( January/Febuary 1999 )　
" Two Wheels of Japan "
Ceramics Monthly, Vol.47, pp.110-112 ( May 1999 )
" Kaiseki "
CPA News, The Newsletter of the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain, Number76, p.6
( March/April 2001 )
" Traditional Japanese Pottery as a Spirit - Influence of Zen -"　
LA CERAMIQUE MODERNE, JOURNAL TECHNIQUE ET ARTISTIQUE MENSUEL, Nombre 480, pp.12-13 (JUIN 2003) 22, rue Le Brun -75013 PARIS　
" Linearity in Tradition "
This article was added in the www.studiopottery.co.uk - the UK's leading on line information site linking potters, galleries and collectors with a shared enthusiasm for Studio Ceramics. ( October 2003 )
" Beauty of Soul, Beauty of Form: Naturally-glazed Ceramics and Haiku "
The Log Book, Issue 22. 2005, pp.3-7, The International Publication for Woodfirers and those interested in Woodfired Ceramics - P.O.Box 612, Scariff,Co.Clare, Republic of Ireland