Midori Uchida: Breath and Fire in Japanese Ceramic Art

Midori Uchida is a leading Japanese ceramic artist, known for her entirely hand-built forms and her rare combination of demanding techniques. Working without a wheel, she creates pieces with subtle, organic irregularities. Her signature lies in saggar firing with rice husks, which deposit delicate carbon gradients onto the clay, and in the addition of metallic particles that produce unpredictable reactions during firing. Without glaze, her works reveal the raw dialogue between earth, fire, carbon, and metal. The result is a body of work that feels both ancient and contemporary—calm, refined, and instantly recognizable.