In 2008, he entered the Kyoto University of Education, where he majored in Fine Art, and started studying ceramics in his junior year.  After receiving his Bachelor’s degree, he enrolled on the Master’s degree program at the Kanazawa University of Art, then continued into a doctoral program and received his PhD in Fine Art in 2017. During the last year of his Doctorate program, he was seeking a place to make larger scale works, as it was not possible at the University. This led him to stay at the ‘Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park’ as an artist in residence.

• Born: 1990
• Hometown: Wakayama, Japan
• Education: Kanazawa University of Art

After completing the doctoral course, he moved to Shigaraki to pursue his creative practice. He has participated in and has been selected to be a part of numerous group exhibitions and competitions, and he has also held solo exhibitions all over Japan.

Tomonari’s Recent Activities

In 2019, Tomonari Hashimoto held his first overseas solo exhibition in Hong Kong. And he was selected as the on-site exhibitor at the ‘Korean International Ceramic Biennale 2019’ in Icheon World Ceramic Center. Tomonari Hashimoto was selected as one of the youngest finalists at the ‘LOEWE Craft Prize 2019’ exhibited at the Sogetsu Kaikan in Tokyo.

Artist Statment

I seek the intangible, but something, like an energy or presence, that surely exist to us human consciousness, through forming clay into a shell that contains such intangible. It is something not understood at the moment, but through experiencing over time.

The work is built through accumulation of clay and never carved away. It is fired with a glaze saturated with metal oxides, then again fired and carbonized to bring out the character of the metals onto the surface. I have to build a kiln specific to each of my work every time I fire to carbonize them.

The whole process from forming the clay, glazing, firing, building a kiln, then again firing, sets an order to myself as an individual, and it, the whole process, is the time to face my inner self. The pursuit of the intangible have led me to the concept of Introspection.