A striking wall-mounted ceramic object by Mukai Naoko, titled Yukaku, a term suggesting a healing or protective shell—something akin to a scab formed over a wound. The elongated form appears almost like a fragment of organic matter—part shell, part dried leaf—its irregular edges curling inward to reveal a dark, glossy interior that contrasts dramatically with the matte, iron-rich exterior surface. Fired to a deep reddish-brown tone and scattered with subtle granular textures, the outer skin carries the quiet evidence of flame and clay interacting in the kiln, while the interior cavity gleams with a molten, lacquer-like darkness. In this way the work evokes the natural process by which a wound seals itself, forming a protective crust that both conceals and preserves what lies beneath. Mounted vertically, the piece suggests a suspended natural fragment or geological shard discovered and preserved upon the wall. The tension between the fragile, torn silhouette and the dense ceramic body lends the work a quiet intensity, transforming clay into something that feels simultaneously fossilized and alive. The object measures approximately 35.5 cm (14 inches) long, 12.5 cm (5 inches) wide, and 8 cm (3-1/8 inches) deep, and remains in excellent condition, acquired directly from the artist. The title suggests the idea of gently soothing the “shell” of oneself—the hardened exterior formed by stress or fatigue. It can express the act of caring for one’s own inner and outer self, suggesting a process of mental and physical healing, as if tending to the protective shell that surrounds the individual. This work connects the material transformation of clay to a biological process—damage, protection, and healing. That idea resonates very strongly with Mukai’s vocabulary of skins, shells, reefs, and porous surfaces across the works we have encountered from her oeuvre.
Mukai Naoko was born in Tokyo in 1999, and graduated from Musashino Art University in 2023 with a degree in Crafts and Industrial Design, specializing in ceramics, and completed the Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center in 2025. Representing a new generation of ceramic artists, her work has already been presented internationally and domestically, including Talking Flowers at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (2022), ishoken: A New Wind at Nihombashi Takashimaya (Tokyo, 2024), and Alluring Forms at Gallery Voice (Tajimi, 2025). In 2025, she was selected for the 6th Kanazawa World Crafts Triennale at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, marking her emergence onto a broader contemporary craft stage.
