AKARI KARUGANE

Akari Karugane is a Japanese ceramic artist whose practice embodies a deep reverence for material, place, and process. Born in 1995 in Gifu Prefecture, a region celebrated for its Mino ware heritage, Karugane’s formative years were influenced by early exposure to the arts through her family’s background in textile design. Karugane pursued formal training at Musashino Art University in Tokyo, graduating from the Department of Crafts and Industrial Design in 2019, before completing the prestigious Lab Course at the Tajimi City Ceramics Design Institute in 2022.

Now based in Tajimi, Karugane continues to draw inspiration from the area’s abundant natural clay and longstanding ceramic tradition. Her work reflects an exploration of clay’s inherent qualities: warmth, resilience, and capacity for transformation. She is particularly drawn to antique vessels and weathered artifacts; forms that carry the marks of time and touch. These references inform her practice, where she embraces the kiln’s natural distortions and material shifts as vital and celebrated features of the finished piece.

Karugane’s process is intuitive and tactile, moving fluidly between hand-building, wheel-throwing, and mold techniques, responding to the essence of each form. Her palette favours subdued, earthy tones that evoke both the elemental and the poetic. The resulting works, ranging from gently warped jars to wall-mounted sculptural ceramics, are imbued with quiet depth, striking a balance between the rugged and the refined.

Since establishing her studio, Karugane has presented her work extensively across Japan with more than a dozen solo exhibitions, alongside select international showcases. Her ceramics resonate deeply with audiences who value artistry that bridges tradition and contemporary expression. Each piece echoes the passage of time, capturing the enduring dialogue between material, maker, and history.