Biography
The ceramic works of Kodai Ujiie (b. 1990) are refreshingly avant-garde. Since his debut exhibition in 2014, Ujiie’s colorful and abstract wares have interpolated the kintsugi lacquer mending technique and experimented with unusual celadon colors. Ujiie now works from his kiln in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture.
Biography:
1990 Born in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
2013 Graduated from BFA at Tohoku University of Art and Design
2015 Graduated from MFA at Tohoku University of Art and Design
Currently based in Tajimi, Gifu, Japan.
Exhibitions:
2017 Silver Shell Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
2018 Miyagi Prefecture Jun Sugimura Museum of Art, Miyagi, Japan
2019 Ippodo Gallery Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2021 Nihonbashi Takashimaya S.C., Tokyo, Japan
2021 Gallery Kurimoto, Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan
2022 The Stratford Gallery UK, United Kingdom
2022 Ippodo Gallery Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2022 Gallery Bunkindo, Gifu, Japan
2023 Nihonbashi Takashimaya S.C., Tokyo, Japan
2023 Tosei Kyoto Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
2023 "Skin and Body: Crazed Vessels by Kodai Ujiie", Ippodo Gallery New York
Art Fairs:
2022 Design Miami, Miami, Florida
2023 Design Miami, Miami, Florida
Public Collections:
Miyagi Prefectural Jun Sugimura Museum of Art, Miyagi, Japan
Warehouse Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Works
![Kodai Ujiie, [Featured in the New York Times] Nezumi Shino Lacquer Medium Jar 漆貫入彩鼠志野中壺, 2024](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/artlogicstorage/ippodogallery/images/view/ef456b0242d5b12f67a045e58e555f24j/ippodogallery-kodai-ujiie-featured-in-the-new-york-times-nezumi-shino-lacquer-medium-jar-2024.jpg)
Exhibitions
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Light and Abundance: Gold in Japanese Art
13 Mar - 17 Apr 2025Exhibition opens Thursday, March 13, 2025 35 N Moore Street, TriBeCa New York, NY — GRAND OPENING Ippodo Gallery invites you to join our inaugural opening of the new downtown...Read more -
Skin & Body: Crazing Vessels by Kodai Ujiie
Crazing Vessels by Kodai Ujiie 14 Sep - 4 Oct 2023Exhibition opens September 14. Online Viewing will be live ahead of the exhibition opening on September 12, 2:00 PM. All artwork images will be uploaded at 2:00 PM. All visitors...Read more -
Magic of the Tea Bowl
Volume 3 8 Jun - 31 Jul 2023Magic of the Tea Bowl (Vol.3) June 2023 The Japanese tea ceremony was first established during the sixteenth century and has continued to flourish to the present day. Closely tied...Read more -
Extreme Surfaces: Cutting Edge Kogei
Ippodo Gallery's Premiere at Design Miami 2022 + New Year Exhibition 30 Nov 2022 - 16 Feb 2023Ippodo Galleryis a pioneering kogei -focused gallery based in Tokyo and New York. Our mission is to honor the living tradition of Japanese fine art in the contemporary world by...Read more -
Magic of the Tea Bowl
Volume 2 2 Jun - 7 Jul 2022Magic of the Tea Bowl (Vol.2) April 2022 The Japanese tea ceremony was first established during the 16th century and has continued to flourish to the present day. Closely related...Read more
Publications
Events
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Design Miami 2024
3 - 8 Dec 2024New Winds in Japanese Art & Design Presenting at Design Miami for the third consecutive year, Ippodo Gallery introduces new interpretations and explorations of tradition...Read more -
Salon Art & Design 2024
Park Avenue Armory 7 - 11 Nov 2024Ippodo Gallery debuts at Salon Art + Design the concept Growing Roots: The Next Generation of Japanese Art featuring a range of works made of...Read more -
Independent 20th Century Fair 2024
5 - 8 Sep 2024VOYAGE BLUE Ippodo Gallery debuts at Independent 20th Century alongside Japan’s leading living painter Masaaki Miyasako and 9 fellow contemporary Japanese artists of diverse mediums...Read more -
Design Miami 2023
Forms and Formations 5 - 12 Dec 2023Booth G35 Ippodo Gallery presents Forms and Formations , featuring great names in contemporary Japanese fine art at Design Miami 2023 from December 5 to...Read more -
Opening Reception - September 14, 6-8 PM
Skin and Body: Crazed Vessels by Kodai Ujiie 14 Sep 2023New York, NY – Ippodo Gallery presents Skin and Body: Crazed Vessels by Kodai Ujiie , the avant-garde artist’s first solo exhibition in the United...Read more -
Opening Reception - June 13, 6-8 PM
Magic of the Tea Bowl Vol.3 13 Jun 2023Please join us on Tuesday, June 13th, from 6 PM to 8 PM EST at Ippodo Gallery (32 E 67th Street, New York, 10065). Ippodo...Read more -
Artist Talk at Design Miami
Kodai Ujiie at 1 PM (EST) 3 Dec 2022Artist Talk with Kodai Ujiie at Design MiamiRead more -
Design Miami 2022
Extreme Surfaces: Cutting Edge Kogei 30 Nov - 4 Dec 2022Design Miami 2022Read more -
Opening Reception - June 2 5-8pm
Magic of the Tea Bowl Vol. 2 2 Jun 2022Ippodo Gallery is pleased to present another series of Magic of the Tea Bowl – Volume 2, an exhibition of tea bowls by seventeen respected...Read more -
Artist Talk 2
Kodai Ujiie x Glenn Adamson 19 Apr 2021Join us on Monday April 19th, 2021 at 7pm - 8pm for the second iteration of our Artist Talk series! Featuring contemporary ceramicist Kodai Ujiie...Read more
Blog
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Design Miami/ 2023 Recap
February 19, 2024Ippodo Gallery’s presence at Design Miami/ for a second year is met with rave reviews. We are so grateful for the enthusiastic responses of our...Read more -
Oribe Furuta and Kodai Ujiie
へうげものたち - Heugemono September 26, 2023In March of this year, during New York's Asia Week, I found a set of “Mukoduke” utensils of Oribe ware went on display in an...Read more -
Featuring Kodai Ujiie at Work
September 14, 2023Skin & Body: Crazing Vessels by Kodai Ujiie opens tonight from 6:00–8:00PM at Ippodo Gallery on 32 E 67st., 3rd floor. The artist, who has...Read more -
Studio Visit: Kodai Ujiie
Magic of the Tea Bowl Volume III June 20, 2023Kodai Ujiie is an avante-garde ceramicist who imbues each piece with the breath of life. His hand-built porcelain artworks, which deploy glazes such as celadon...Read more -
Year in Review
Reflecting on the Exhibitions of 2022 January 4, 2023Yukiya Izumita , “Stream of Time” 2022 began with Yukiya Izumita’s “Layers of Time,” an impressive showing of the artist’s newest works. The ceramicist began...Read more -
How to Experience the Sensation of the Tea Bowl
Elements of the Tea Ceremony July 9, 2022What is Chanoyu? Chanoyu(Japanese tea ceremony) is a Japanese art form that seeks a deep emotional connection between the host and the guest through the...Read more -
Celadon Glaze
May 12, 2022Celadon is a term for pottery glazed in a jade green color, greenware. Other characteristics are a transparent glaze, often with small cracks used on...Read more -
Between the Cracks:
Kodai Ujiie's Collage-Like surfaces June 8, 2021This week we are introducing a closer look at some of our new artist, Kodai Ujiie's Celadon and Lacquer pieces. White Lacquer Tea Bowl, H4...Read more -
The Magic of Tea Bowls
A Reflection on Contemporary Japanese Tea Bowls February 9, 2021Today, the world is being rocked by confusion and unease. Human life is threatened by a virus and the balance of nature is being destroyed....Read more -
Artist Spotlight:
Kodai Ujiie's Contemporary Kintsugi January 19, 2021Kodai Ujiie, currently exhibiting at Tokyo Ippodo Gallery’s 6th New Birds Flying group show until January 31, 2021, is one of the youngest and most...Read more -
Unique Surfaces
A Survey of Tokyo Ippodo Gallery Artists January 12, 2021Hideyuki Fujisawa Yuteki Tenmoku Tea Bowl, 2020 Lacquer H2 7/8 x W4 ¾ in, H7.2 x W12.2 cm (C22101) Hideyuki Fujisawa’s Yuteki Tenmoku Tea Bowl...Read more