Sei (Silence), porcelain, 1969   Click here for larger image. Yashiro (Sacred Building), stoneware, 1975   Click here for larger image. Harukana Umi (Distant Ocean), porcelaneous stoneware, 1976   Click here for larger image. Ban <Chô> (Shallow Bowl <Serene>), porcelain, 1979   Click here for larger image. Kaikei (Seascape), porcelain, 1980   Click here for larger image. Kaze (Wind), porcelaneous stoneware, 1980   Click here for larger image. Enbô no Kei <Jô> (Distant Prospect <Streaks>), porcelain, 2000   Click here for larger image. Shinshô <Chô> (Mind's Image <Serene>), porcelain, 2001   Click here for larger image.

The spring exhibition at the Lee Center features recently acquired, and some never before exhibited, ceramic sculpture by acclaimed Japanese ceramicist Fukami Sueharu. Fukami is one of Japan's most renowned ceramic artists, both in Asia and the West. Born in 1947, Kyoto-based Fukami is best known for his luminous pale-blue glazed abstract porcelains that are technical and aesthetic feats of clay. While including some of his contemporary masterpieces, the exhibition will showcase Fukami's early developmental and experimental works, dating from the 1960s to the 1980s, including his relatively unknown works in stoneware.

Fukami was born into a family of porcelain artists, and joined their ranks at age 20. He has forged his own way however, working in an original, inventive, and witty style that explores texture and form, and pushes the limits of porcelain as a medium. His porcelains are inspired by the fine ceramics of Song Dynasty (960-1279) China, widely considered the Golden Age of Chinese ceramic glazes, yet they are also profoundly modern.

Fukami has received international acclaim for his ceramics, and has received 28 prizes from juried exhibitions, including several grand prizes at international exhibitions. Genesis of Genius is the first retrospective exhibition of the early works of this great artist, with examples produced between 1964 and 1990, and including the very first piece he made at the age of 14.

Members Only Opening With the Artist

The artist will be in attendance for a special members' only opening of the exhibition on Friday April 4, 2004. Please phone (559) 582-4915 or email for more information .

For the Press

High-resolution versions of images displayed here are available upon request.

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