Exhibition "Kogei Ecosystem - A World of Kogei -" Featuring Three Up-and-Coming Artists from/Enrolled in Tokyo University of the Arts

Geidai Art Plaza (https://artplaza.geidai.ac.jp/), a gallery operated within the Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Fine Arts campus (Taito-ku, Ueno) as a collaborative project between Shogakukan and Tokyo University of the Arts, will hold the exhibition "Kogei Ecosystem - A World in Kogei -" featuring Kaito Kawasaki, Shunsuke Nomura, and Mine Mochizuki starting Saturday, May 16, 2026.

Admission is free, and photography is permitted.

Held on Saturday, May 16, 2026
"Kogei Ecosystem - A World of Kogei -"

What is "kogei" (craftwork)? We often perceive it as an accumulation of techniques. However, kogei, nurtured within Japan's diverse climate and culture, is not merely a piling up or mastery of skills. It is simultaneously an endeavor to find beauty within the overlapping elements of local climate, materials, people's lives, history, and time. Perhaps kogei expresses an "ecosystem" that includes people, emerging in connection with human ways of life and the environment. The three artists participating in this exhibition seem to be continuously exploring the present state of kogei through their respective practices. Within it, a single ecosystem, where humans and nature, past and present, are gently connected, is certainly alive and breathing.

(Shiro Takagi, Geidai Art Plaza)

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Exhibition Announcement Page
https://artplaza.geidai.ac.jp/column/30994/

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■ Exhibition Overview

Exhibition Title: "Kogei Ecosystem - A World of Kogei -"

Venue: Geidai Art Plaza (Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Fine Arts campus, 12-8 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo)

Dates: Saturday, May 16, 2026, to Sunday, June 14, 2026

*Pre-opening from 13:00 on Friday, May 15

Admission: Free

Hours: 10:00-18:00

Closed: Mondays *Open if Monday is a holiday, closed the following Tuesday

*Business hours may change. Please check the official website/SNS for the latest information.

[Exhibiting Artists]

Kaito Kawasaki

Born in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture in 2000

2018: Created "Woman Who Died in the Blast," a painting of the atomic bomb

2019: Graduated from Hiroshima Municipal Motomachi High School, General Course, Creative Expression Program

April 2020: Enrolled in Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Crafts

April 2021: Advanced to Casting Specialization, Department of Crafts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts

November 2021: Won Grand Prize in Yamato Museum Crowdfunding Return Gift Design Competition

2022: Ataka Award, Tokyo University of the Arts Scholarship System

January 2023: Selected for Geidai Art Plaza Grand Prize Exhibition

January 2024: Jury Special Prize, Geidai Art Plaza Art Award

January 2024: Heisei Art Award

2025: Shogakukan Award, Geidai Art Plaza Art Award

2026: Salon de Printemps Award

March 2026: Completed Casting Specialization, Department of Crafts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts

Instagram: @kkchaki

Shunsuke Nomura

Born in Tokyo in 2000

2016: Enrolled in Tokyo Metropolitan Kogei High School, Art Craft Department

2019: Graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Kogei High School, Art Craft Department

2020: Enrolled in Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Crafts

2023: "59th Toyokai Ceramic Exhibition" at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, 6F Art Museum Craft Salon

2023: "Ceramic Synergy Exhibition" at Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art

2023: "KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa" at Hyatt Centric Kanazawa

2024: "Art Fair Tokyo 2024" at Tokyo International Forum, Hall E

2025: Solo Exhibition at MUFG Bank Seijo Branch

2025: "OSAKA INTERNATIONAL ART" at Osaka-jo Hall

2025: "Contemporary Artist Teabowl Feature" at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, Art Square

2026: Completed Ceramics Field, Department of Crafts, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts

2022: Selected for "Geidai Art Plaza Grand Prize Exhibition"

2023: Art Plaza Award, "Geidai Art Plaza Grand Prize Exhibition"

2023: Ceramic Synergy Award, Bunkyo Small Award, "Ceramic Synergy Exhibition"

2023: Special Award, "International Takifuji Art Award"

2023: Honorable Mention, "Geidai Art Fes"

2026: "Art no Chikara Award" Graduation Work (Insource Co., Ltd.)

Instagram: @nomura_shunsuke_

Mine Mochizuki

Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1998

2020: Enrolled in Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Crafts

2024: Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Crafts

2024: Graduation work "Saeyuru Yoru" acquired and installed by Lectore Hayama Shonan International Village

2024: Enrolled in Graduate School of Fine Arts, Master's Program, Metal Engraving Specialization, Tokyo University of the Arts

2026: Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Fine Arts