Ceramic artist
Toshinori Tsuboi
Based in Toki, Gifu, Japan
Career
1974 — Born in Tokyo.
Worked at a financial institution after graduating from university.
Moved to Gifu after deciding to become a ceramic artist.
2006 — Completed the advanced course at Gifu Prefectural Tajimi Technical High School.
Worked as a wheel-throwing specialist at Sakuyama-gama.
2009 — Became independent and established his studio in Toki, Gifu.
2017 — Exhibited at Kōbō kara no Kaze.
Today — Based in Toki, he presents his work mainly through solo and group exhibitions throughout Japan.
Main techniques: kohiki, hakeme, and irabo.
About the artist
Toshinori Tsuboi makes everyday vessels grounded in traditional techniques such as kohiki, hakeme, and irabo.
Old ceramics are an important reference point in his practice. He does not deliberately reproduce antique vessels. Instead, he learns from their forms, textures, and methods of making, then adjusts their shapes and proportions for today’s food and way of life.
Tsuboi pays particular attention to the expression of the materials themselves. The variation in the white slip of kohiki, the marks left by the brush, and the changes between clay and glaze during firing are not made artificially uniform. The movement of the hand and the chance of the fire remain naturally on the surface.
At the same time, he always sees a vessel as a tool for living. Whether it is easy to hold, whether its weight feels right, and whether it sits naturally when filled with food are all part of the making process.
His work carries the simplicity and sense of time found in old ceramics, but it does not belong to the past. For Tsuboi, learning from old pottery is ultimately a way to make vessels suited to life today.