Akiko Hirai's exhibition will open at Goldmark in Uppingham on Saturday 22nd March 2025. There will be documentary screening throughout the day, fizz and nibbles from 1pm and an opportunity to meet the potter from 2pm. Please RSVP below if you would like to attend.
Akiko Hirai never dreamed of becoming a potter – yet in recent years, she has found herself one of the most sought-after makers of her generation. Relinquishing her post as the Head of Ceramics at Kensington and Chelsea college to tackle an unprecedented demand for her work, Hirai has enjoyed knockout shows throughout the country. This will be her third exhibition at the Goldmark Gallery; her first, in 2020, sold out in a matter of hours and the second, in 2023, was equally successful.
Born in Japan, where she studied for a degree in psychology, Hirai discovered her love of clay in the UK almost by accident. She has since spent the last 18 years in the very same studio space she took immediately after her graduation from Central St Martins in 2003.
Though it was in Japan that Hirai was first exposed to ceramics, it is in the UK, away from Japan’s formal pottery traditions, where she has been able to find her individual voice. We are delighted to be showing her work again.
Akiko Hirai’s pots are housed in major international public collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Fitzwilliam in the UK, the National Museum of Ireland, Germany’s distinguished Keramikmuseum Westerwald, and New York’s Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse.
Additionally, a 64-page monograph featuring photographs of the exhibition pieces and an essay will be available at the gallery and on our website. A walkthrough film of the exhibition will also be available on our website.
All remaining exhibition pots will go on sale here on our website on Wednesday 26th March at 4pm GMT.
