Midori Uchida
Born 1983, Kobe, Japan – Lives & works in Mizunami, Gifu Prefecture
Midori Uchida is a ceramic artist whose work transcends the boundary between vessel and landscape. By hand-building each form without the aid of a wheel, she brings subtle undulations and organic curves to life—each piece is an individual meditation in clay.
Her techniques are deeply refined: she uses saggar (box) firing and carbonization methods wherein rice husks and metallic particles interact in the kiln to yield delicate gradations, shimmering surfaces, and textures that evoke geological and temporal depth.
Her work has been exhibited extensively in Japan. Selected solo exhibitions include:
Trace of the Wind, GALLERY crossing, Gifu (2025)
Inner Landscape, GALLERY crossing, Gifu (2024)
Major group exhibitions include:
The Present of Unglazed Ceramics: Three Contemporary Artists in a Tea Room, Nezu Museum, Tokyo (2025)
Mino Youyou, Seiko House Ginza Hall, Tokyo (2023)
Her practice has earned her recognition as one of Japan’s significant voices in contemporary ceramics: her work is held in the public collection of the Toshin Mino Ceramic Art Museum (Tajimi, Gifu) and she received the Sakazaki Shigeo Prize at the 9th International Ceramics Competition Mino in 2011.
Midori Uchida embodies the union of craft, vision and depth—a creator whose work speaks of time, transformation and the gentle power of matter.
Short Quotes
"Clay remembers everything — every touch, every hesitation."
"I seek forms that breathe, carrying both stillness and movement."
"Firing is a collaboration with time, flame, and chance."
Artist Summary
Born: 1983, Kobe, Japan
Lives and works: Mizunami, Gifu Prefecture
Practice: Hand-built ceramics, saggar firing, carbonisation
Midori Uchida creates hand-built ceramic works characterised by organic curves, refined asymmetry, and nuanced surface expressions. Her pieces emerge through saggar firing and carbonisation processes that introduce smoke marks, mineral traces, and subtle tonal shifts.
Solo Exhibitions
2025 – Trace of the Wind, GALLERY crossing, Gifu
2024 – Inner Landscape, GALLERY crossing, Gifu
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 – The Present of Unglazed Ceramics, Nezu Museum, Tokyo
2023 – Mino Youyou, Seiko House Ginza Hall, Tokyo
Awards & Collections
– Sakazaki Shigeo Prize, International Ceramics Competition Mino (2011)
– Works in the collection of the Toshin Mino Ceramic Art Museum, Gifu
Keywords: Hand-built ceramics · Saggar firing · Organic forms · Material sensitivity · Contemporary Japanese craft
