AIRI KAGAMIHARA

Airi Kagamihara is a ceramic artist based in Kagawa Prefecture whose practice centres on an attentive relationship with clay and the gradual changes that occur through use and time. She creates each piece with careful consideration for form, balance and depth, aiming to make works that become more familiar in the hand over time. Rather than forcing the material into rigid control, Kagamihara allows the natural texture and expression of the clay to emerge, believing that these subtle shifts and imperfections enrich the experience of living with the work.

Born in 1997, Kagamihara graduated from Kyoto Prefectural Ceramic Technical College in 2020 before completing her studies at the Tajimi City Ceramic Design Institute in 2023. She now works in Kagawa Prefecture, developing a practice centred on softly textured vessels and sculptural forms that balance refinement with material honesty.

Working primarily with coarse, unrefined clay, Kagamihara often uses moulds while adjusting her forming and firing methods in response to each individual piece. Although many of her works are fired in an electric kiln, she frequently uses gas firing for her vases in order to achieve richer and more varied surface qualities. Her ceramics are marked by delicate crackled textures, pale ivory tones and surfaces that recall weathered objects shaped gradually by time. The result is work that feels both understated and deeply tactile, inviting a slower and more intimate experience of use.