Yagi Akira was born in Kyoto in 1955, the son of the pioneering avant-garde ceramic artist Yagi Kazuo (1918–1979), a founding member of the postwar Sōdeisha group. Growing up in an environment shaped by radical experimentation and critical engagement with tradition, Akira absorbed these influences early while forging a path distinctly his own.
He studied ceramics in Kyoto and developed a practice that both acknowledges and departs from his father’s legacy, emphasizing conceptual rigor, refined form, and a contemporary rethinking of ceramics beyond utilitarian boundaries. His work often engages with structure, void, and balance, reflecting a deep sensitivity to material and space while maintaining a quiet intellectual intensity.
Yagi Akira has been recognized as one of the most important figures in contemporary ceramics, being voted one of the 20 most important living ceramic artists by Honoho, Japan’s leading ceramic publication. In 1998, he received the prestigious Japan Ceramic Society (JCS) Award, one among many honors that mark his long and influential career.
His works are held in major international museum collections, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Through decades of sustained practice, Yagi Akira has established himself as a key figure bridging postwar avant-garde ceramics and contemporary global discourse.
An EXHIBITION that also displayed his works "Shoka" Digital Catalog
Sold out
Sold out
Sold out
Sold out
