Patina of Time: The Clay Art of Iguchi Daisuke at Joan B Mirviss

Joan B Mirviss, the Upper East Side specialist in Japanese ceramics, is showing Patina of Time: The Clay Art of Iguchi Daisuke, running September 10 to October 30, 2026. It arrives ten years after the artist's celebrated international solo debut at the gallery.

Iguchi, born in 1975, comes from Tochigi Prefecture and works in the lineage of two of its best-known ceramists, Kamoda Shōji (1933–1983) and Wada Morihiro (1944–2008). Like them, he treats surface and form as a single thing. Fine linear patterns ripple across vessels that curve gently and sometimes swell into lobes, extending the region's aesthetic while pursuing concerns of his own.

Time is the core subject. Iguchi has said he hopes his work prompts viewers to reflect on memory and the passing of years rather than simply presenting a shape. Rusted iron, moss-covered rocks and ancient pottery unearthed at archaeological sites inspire the weathered, eroded textures he cultivates through a slow, exacting process.

He builds each piece by coiling clay dug from rice paddies in Ibaraki Prefecture. After a bisque firing, the work is coated in ash and metallic oxides and fired again at close to 1300 degrees Celsius, then polished with a wire brush to bring out its rough, textured skin. Crisp lines are made by masking the clay body and applying silver slip before a final firing at a lower temperature. The lines sometimes follow the contours of the form and sometimes veer away, creating rhythm and tension. The results read as both ancient and contemporary.

The show comprises nearly thirty new works made exclusively for the gallery, mostly ash-coated vessels with silver slip, along with teabowls and an incense burner. The gallery is at 39 East 78th Street, Suite 401, open weekdays 11am to 6pm and by appointment. The exhibition is also viewable online.