Detail: NEW YORK - Joan B. Mirviss LTD is honored to present an exhibition of over forty works by master teabowl artist Ajiki Hiro (b.1948). This exhibition
is Ajiki’s first solo exhibition in the United States and at Joan B Mirviss LTD.
For the last twenty-five years, Ajiki Hiro has focused exclusively on teabowls with great success. As an artist, he views the tea ceremony as an
intimate form of communication and a spiritual experience. The teabowl is functional as well as a work of art: it embodies Ajiki’s energy and
personality, and the viewer must select the work that mirrors his own values. “The small space embraced by your palms become a mirror to reflect” on
yourself and the world, the teabowl an implement for meditation. Ajiki’s early education in oil painting has a strong influence on his work, and is
evident in his sensitivity to color and design. He is unique in his vast range of shapes and styles, although it is his use of salt-glazes that set
him apart. Ajiki’s artistic achievements are exemplified in his basara series, which has received great acclaim; his work is opulent and lavish,
yet refined as shown in the richly colored checkerboard patterns on his faceted teabowls.
In 1987, Ajiki won the prestigious Grand Prize at the Modern Tea Forms Exhibition of the Tanabe Museum of Art for a basara teabowl, which was later
acquired by Metropolitan Museum of Art. His works can be found in the numerous public and private collections in Japan and internationally.