Newcastle Art Gallery – SODEISHA: Connected to Australia

In 1981 Newcastle Art Gallery was gifted the largest collection of Japanese Sodeisha ceramics in the southern hemisphere. The Gallery has invited ten contemporary Australian and Japanese ceramic artists to exhibit their work in response to this collection, including orginating member of the Sodeisha movement Satoru Hoshino who will deliver workshops and a major installation for the exhibition. The exhibition aims to re-contextualize this significant collection through the inclusion of living contemporary ceramic practitioners from Australia and Japan who will feature alongside the collection to form a dialogue between this important post war avant-garde movement and contemporary ceramic arts practice today.

SODEISHA: Connected to Australia will be held in early 2019 and curated by Sarah Johnson from Newcastle Art Gallery and two guests curators, Kevin White and Saturo Hoshino, who will work with the Australian and Japanese artists respectively.

Australian artists will include Alterfact Studio, Penny Byrne, Juz Kitson, David Ray, Kenji Uranishi & Kristina Chan. From Japan artists include Takashi Hinoda, Satoru Hoshino, Yusaku Ishida, Rokube Kiyimizu, Hideo Matsumoto. Feature pieces by the founding members of the Sodeisha group from the Newcastle Art Gallery’s

Sodeisha collection will provide the touchstone for the project.

Sodeisha literally translates from Japanese to English as ‘Crawling through mud’ and the Newcastle Art Gallery will also commission a performance by Newcastle-based dance company Catapult inspired by the 1955 performance Challenging Mud by Kazuo Shiraga (1924-2008). Shiraga was a member of the Kyoto based Gutai Artists Association who challenged ideas about the relationship between elemental materials and the human body. Kazuo’s seminal and physically demanding 1955 performance has long been recognised as having a close association with the Sodeisha movement.

In addition to this performance a comprehensive suite
of public programs including masterclasses, artist-led
workshops and forums and regional clay community
activities will support the exhibition and draw in new audiences for this ancient and contemporary art form.

For more information about the Dobell Exhibition Grant please contact:
Rachel Arndt
Gallery Programs & Touring Exhibitions Manager
02 9339 9906
rachela@mgnsw.org.au

Susan Wacher
Gallery Programs Coordinator
02 9339 9916
susanw@mgnsw.org.au