Akira Satake
Akira Satake’s handbuilt and wheel thrown work represents some of the finest Japanese traditions in clay. Firing in a Japanese Kyushu-style oil kiln and a wood-fired kiln, his distinctive Kohiki, Yakishime, Yuuyaku-style pottery has won numerous awards. He attributes his vessels’ unique look to influences in nature, such as undulations in sand that has been moved by the wind, rock formations caused by landslides, the crackle and patina in the wall of an old house. The kiln firing is the ultimate random part of the collaborative equation.
Akira Satake Artist Statement
For me, the act of creation is a collaboration between myself, the clay and the fire. Collaboration means finding what the clay wants to be and bringing out its beauty in the way that the beauty of our surroundings is created through natural forces. Undulations in sand that has been moved by the wind, rock formations caused by landslides, the crackle and patina in the wall of an old house, all these owe their special beauty to the random hand of Nature. The fire is the ultimate random part of the collaborative equation. I hope the fire will be my ally, but I know it will always transform the clay in ways I cannot anticipate.
Akira Satake Artist Bio
Born in Osaka, Japan, the artist has been living in the U.S. since 1983 and has won numerous awards here for both visual and music. In 2003 he relocated from Brooklyn, New York to Swannanoa, North Carolina, where he built a Japanese Kyushu-style oil kiln and a wood-fired kiln.
Akira has recently exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, the Mint Museum Potter's Market Invitational, and The Smithsonian Craft Show. He recently received a National Award for Excellence in Contemporary Clay, and had one of his works purchased for the Mint Museum's permanent collection. He is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and Piedmont Craftsmen.
