In conversation:

Nao Matsunaga
with
Alison Britton

At Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix, we are delighted to announce a talk event of Nao Matsunaga with Alison Britton OBE, in conjunction with the current solo exhibition of Matsunaga, 'Hybrid of sorts/ Hybrid of thoughts’.

A seasoned and widely and hugely respected practician, Britton has witnessed the career-long development of Matsunaga's as she was a mentor of the young artist at RCA in mid 2000’s. The conversation of the two ceramicists will likely cover a wide range of subjects, giving us insight for not only Matsunaga's practice, but of a bigger picture of the ceramic art world in general.

Nao Matsunaga (b. Osaka, 1980)

Lives and works in London.

The practice of Nao Matsunaga is informed by his interest in early man and how they shared primitive cultures across the world before language came to be born, and how these practices continue to shape our lives. The artist has been aspiring to capture these universal primal elements, firstly with ceramics, the media for which he has established his artistic career and reputation, but in recent years Matsunaga's artistic language has become richer: more complex but more simplified at the same time, as he has come to embrase working with found wood pieces as well as painting. After completing BA (Hons) at University of Brighton and MA of Royal College of Art, Matsunaga has exhibited in the UK and internationally. His recent solo shows include: Token Art Center (2020), Tokyo and Marsen Woo, London (2020, 2017, 2015, 2011), New Arts Centre, Salisbury (2019, 2017), University for the Creative Arts, Fanham (2018), Gallery Format, Oslo (2015), Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London (2012). Public collections includes Victoria and Albert Museum, York Museum and Art Gallery, Brighton and Hove Museum, Shipley Art Gallery and Craft Council UK.

Alison Britton, OBE

Alison Britton was part of the group of RCA women graduates in the early 1970’s whose work became known as ‘The New Ceramics’. Working from a London studio for more than four decades, Britton also writes and curates.

She was awarded an OBE in1990, taught for more than 30 years in the Ceramics and Glass department of the RCA until 2018, and received an Honorary Doctorate there in 2019.

From 1998 to 2019 her work was represented by Marsden Woo Gallery, and subsequently by Corvi-Mora, both of which are in London.