Tadashi Ito (伊藤 正)

Tadashi Ito (伊藤 正 1952-) is a potter who currently works in Iwate prefecture.⠀
After earning his geology degree in university, Ito eventually returned to his hometown in Iwate and began creating works.

Using his native soil, which he digs with his two hands, his simple and elegant works render a powerful sense of nostalgia. Underlying the timeless aesthetic of his works, Ito’s organic way of production reveals his great affinity for nature. 

Nostalgic yet profoundly other, his work possesses a harmonious polarity that grants them a world of their own. 

Timeline:
1952: Born in Kamaishi city, Iwate
1979: Apprentices at Tsukamoto Pottery (current Tsukamoto Co., Ltd.) in Mashiko city, Tochigi
1985: Launches a kiln in Tono city, Iwate
1995: Launches a kiln in Hanamaki city, Iwate

［Solo Exhibitions］

2008: Solo Exhibition “Tadashi Ito,” Momoi, Tokyo

Solo Exhibition “Tadashi Ito investigator of Realism,” Otaru City Museum of Art, Hokkaido

2012: Solo Exhibition “Tadashi Ito Drop of Ocean,” TKG ceramics, Kyoto

2019: Solo Exhibition “Tadashi Ito,” Gallery SU, Tokyo

Solo Exhibition “Tadashi Ito,” Westbeth Gallery KOZUKA, Aichi

 

［Group Exhibitions］

2001: “Bi no Kuni Waga Kokyo (Beautiful Country, My Home)”, Yorozu Tetsugoro Memorial Museum, Iwate

2004: Asahi Modern Craft Exhibition (Osaka, Yokohama, Guest Exhibitor)

2006: Cool & Sophisticated: Contemporary Master Ceramists of Japan at Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum

2008: The 2nd Musee Tomo prize, Contemporary Ceramics for the Tea Ceremony- Free Creativity and Atypical Usage (Musee Tomo, Tokyo)

2010: The 3rd Musee Tomo prize, Contemporary Ceramics for the Tea Ceremony- Free Creativity and Atypical Usage (Musee Tomo, Tokyo)

2017: Ito Tadashi x Kusunoki Keishu Exhibition (Kashima Arts, Tokyo)

2021: √K Collection Summer 2021, √K Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan 

2022: √K Collection Winter 2022, √K Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan 

 

[Awards]

2008: The Musee Tomo prize, Contemporary Ceramics of Japanese Tea Ceremony (Musee Tomo, Tokyo), Award Winner

2013: Iwate-ken Bijutsu (Iwate Prefecture Art), Award Winner