Twelve emerging ceramic artists from six different countries are brought together for New Friends, Art and Adventure: a ceramic art exhibition at the Japan Foundation Gallery from 16 - 31 July.

The exhibition will feature contemporary ceramic works from 12 young artists representing Australia, Japan, Indonesia, India, Cambodia and Laos, and will run to coincide with the twelfth annual Australian Ceramics Triennale.

During the East Asia Summit held in January 2007, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, announced the creation of a new program, the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (or JENESYS in short), where 6000 students from all over Asia Pacific are given the opportunity to visit Japan for the purpose of cultural exchange.

Aedan Harris, ceramist and curator of the exhibition, and five other artists were invited by the Japan Foundation to participate as artists-in-residence at the Shigaraki Institute of Ceramic Studies. New Friends, Art and Adventure: a ceramic art exhibition is a culmination of the three months spent during the residency, along with the addition of six other aspiring Japanese ceramic artists whom they met at the Shigaraki Institute.

 “The exhibition is a celebration of friendship and a collective expression of passion for ceramic art. Our time together was a wonderful example of how artists have a shared understanding, how passion and creativity can unite people from very different worlds and be a way of accessing each other’s culture,” states Aedan.

Aedan will be giving a short talk at the Japan Foundation Gallery on Thursday 16th July at 1pm about his time in Japan and the work produced during his artist-in-residence at the Shigaraki Institute of Ceramic Studies. He will discuss each piece and share each of the represented artists concepts, ceramic techniques and artistic motivation.

Aedan Harris is an invited guest of the ‘Facetnate’ series of exhibitions, a program designed to support emerging visual artist/s whose work demonstrates a strong Japanese influence.

About the Artist:

Aedan Harris has been a ceramic artist for over 12 years; his current work is a combination of functional and sculptural ceramic pieces. His inspiration stems from his curiosity for the evolution of form and design in the natural world. In particular the prevalence of the ‘multiple’, the way cells ‘cluster’, fish ‘school ‘ and ants ‘swarm’. This idea of the collective is represented in the installation of multiple pieces each individual in shape and form.

Aedan is a guest speaker at this year’s Australian Ceramics Triennale conference and will be discussing the residency program at the Shigaraki Ceramic Art Institute. He will speak on the final day of the Triennale (Monday 20th July) as a part of ‘The Ceramic Passport’- International residencies for ceramic artists presentation.

• Noriyuki Furutani, Japan
• Nurdian Ichsan, Indonesia
• Tetsuya Ishiyama, Japan
• Tomoko Izaki, Japan
• Souvangtho Khamphixay, Laos
• Somsaveng Khounpasirth, Laos
• Yuji Kitamoto, Japan
• Antra Sinha, India
• Kaoru Taniuchi, Japan
• Kyoko Uchida, Japan
• Em Vannoeun, Cambodia