The exhibition title, ‘Gaman’, Japanese for ‘tattoo’ and ‘patience’, encompasses Shoji’s creative philosophy and signature ceramic technique which involves meticulous processes and multilayered surface treatments refined over 50 years of professional practice.

The deeply traditional Japanese heritage of Kyoto had a significant impact on Shoji, who was born and grew up in Osaka.

As the artist explains: “it was quite an experience for me as a young man to commute to the old city of Kyoto from the modern city of Osaka, almost every day for six years. I began to understand and appreciate how tradition is important to me”.

While tradition forms the basis of Shoji’s technique – the hand-built coiling process used in his sculptural forms has remained unchanged for millennia – it is contemporary ideas and a desire to test his creativity with technical and conceptual challenges that deeply inform his work.

‘Gaman’ includes 21 dynamic hand-built sculptural forms based on the universal symbols of the square, circle and triangle.

The powerful presence of the sculptures is balanced by the delicate, calligraphic-like marking painstakingly scratched into their surface.

Pigmented clay slip is applied before being carefully scraped back, revealing tiny fragments of colour reminiscent of tattooing or scarification.

Gold or silver leaf is also applied, illuminating openings and edges and creating moments of glowing stillness.  

Shoji’s three-dimensional works are accompanied in the exhibition by seven mixed media ‘clay paintings’.

A unique combination of clay slip, metallic leaf and graphite are applied to charred board to create a layered surface built up over multiple firings.

These two-dimensional works immerged from Shoji’s sculptures and are driven by the artist’s desire to create his own unique technical and visual language—a non-verbal way to speak to the world.

Mitsuo Shoji will present a free talk at the gallery on Friday at 5:30pm, followed by the opening of ‘Gaman’ by Greg Daly from 6pm.

‘Gaman: Mitsuo Shoji’ continues until January 21.