2015
Jun Kaneko is a Japanese-born American ceramic artist and painter. He is largely known for his large-scale hand-built clay sculptures he calls dangos, which is Japanese for dumpling and refers to their rounded forms. Reaching heights of at least eight feet, these monumental, often abstract ceramic works are aimed at civic engagement and are intended to promote viewers to get involved in issues of public concern.
Kaneko began to explore his creative side during his high school years in Japan where he studied painting. In 1963, Kaneko moved to the United States and continued his studies at the Chouinard Art Institute.
Kaneko was drawn to ceramic sculpture after having been introduced to Fred Marer, a professor of mathematics at Los Angeles City College and a lifelong collector of contemporary ceramics. Marer had built deep relationships with the major West Coast ceramic artists that were represented in his vast collection — which was later donated to Scripps College — and owing to Kaneko’s connection to Marer, the budding Japanese artist studied during the mid-1960s with the likes of Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner and Jerry Rothman, each a seminal figure in the development of American contemporary ceramics.
Kaneko later taught at art schools and, in 1986, moved to Nebraska, which is his primary residence today. In 1990, Kaneko opened his third studio in Nebraska and has also worked at a variety of experimental studios in the United States, Asia and Europe.
Over the years Kaneko has created costumes and sets for opera productions and has built more than 70 large-scale public installations — both temporary and permanent. His work can be seen in Canada, China and Jakarta, in locations across the United States and elsewhere. Kaneko’s sculptures are also held in the collections of more than 80 museums. The ceramist has received a number of awards over the years including a Commendation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, a Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship from the American Craft Council and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center.
Find original Jun Kaneko sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.
$85,000
H 40 in W 38 in D 15 in
Dango Ceramic Sculpture by Jun Kaneko, 21st Century, 40x38x15 in
By Jun Kaneko
Located in Minneapolis, MN
Artist: Jun Kaneko Title: Dango Medium: Fired Clay Ceramic Sculpture Size: 40" x 38" x 15" Year: 2003 Jun Kaneko's "Dango" (2003) reflects the artist's longstanding engagement with ...
Ceramic
$14,710
H 72.84 in Dm 21.26 in
Alessandro Mendini, Glazed Ceramic Totem, Italy, circa 1980s
By Alessandro Mendini
Located in Madrid, MD
Totem designed by Alessandro Mendini (1931–2019), crafted in ceramic with a vibrant high-gloss glaze. The piece is composed of four independent sections, making it fully detachable a...
Porcelain
$14,710
H 72.84 in Dm 21.26 in
Alessandro Mendini, Glazed Ceramic Totem, Italy, circa 1980s
By Alessandro Mendini
Located in Madrid, MD
Totem designed by Alessandro Mendini (1931–2019), crafted in ceramic with a vibrant high-gloss glaze. The piece is composed of four independent sections, making it fully detachable a...
Porcelain
$26,000
H 9.8 in Dm 7.25 in
Important Storied Tall Ceramic Pot with Rattle and Fingerprints Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Atlanta, GA
A fantastic ceramic closed-form pot with rattle by Japanese American artist Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922 - 2011). The story: In the 1980s, potter Lola Rae invited Toshika to her ceramic studio and kiln in Ojai, CA to teach a class. Lola Rae had previously worked as a studio assistant for artist Beatrice Wood for eight years. This pot was one of the pieces Toshiko made on site during the class and workshop. Together with the other pot on offer, they stayed in Lola Rae's personal collection until now offered by us Tishu Gallery...
Ceramic
$9,500
H 4.25 in Dm 3.25 in
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Studio Pottery Closed Form With Rattle Sculpture
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging colorfully glazed closed-form sculpture with rattle by renowned Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu, famed for her use of color, texture, scale, multiple glazes, and various free-form shapes, including her orb-like moon pots. This high-fired porcelain piece features a vast array of shifting, whirling, vibrant, colorful glazes (with traces of reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, etc... ). It is a unique and one-of-a-kind work. The closed-form vessel sculpture is signed on the base with her traditional "TT" mark/ monogram. A rare and special piece. Would be a great addition to any collectors of Toshiko's work or other Mid-Century Modern...
Porcelain, Pottery
$16,500
H 21 in W 25.25 in D 3 in
Jun Kaneko Signed Monumental Art Studio Pottery Ceramic Wall Sculpture Charger
By Jun Kaneko
Located in Studio City, CA
A truly breathtaking work by renowned Japanese born ceramic master Jun Kaneko. Kaneko studied with Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner, and Jerry Rothman and was exposed to such artist as Ken Price and John...
Paint, Ceramic, Stoneware
$3,765
H 37.41 in W 13.78 in D 7.09 in
Serendipity 2 by Patricia Volk - Abstract ceramic sculpture, painted clay, totem
By Patricia Volk
Located in Paris, FR
Serendipity 2 is a unique fired clay constructed, painted and mounted on wood sculpture by contemporary artist Patricia Volk, dimensions are 95 × 35 × 18 cm (37.4 × 13.8 × 7.1 in). ...
Clay, Wood
$5,119
H 36.62 in W 14.18 in D 14.18 in
Rattle by Patricia Volk - Abstract ceramic sculpture, painted clay, oxblood
By Patricia Volk
Located in Paris, FR
Rattle is a unique painted fired clay mounted on granite sculpture by contemporary artist Patricia Volk, dimensions are 93 × 36 × 36 cm (36.6 × 14.2 × 14.2 in). The sculpture is sig...
Granite
$647
H 11.42 in Dm 7.88 in
Colorful Fat Lava Pottery "Stripe and Dots" Vase Jasba Ceramics, Germany, 1950s
By Jasba
Located in Kirchlengern, DE
Article: Pottery ceramic vase Producer: JASBA Ceramic, Germany Decade: 1970s Original vintage 1950s pottery ceramic vase ma...
Ceramic
Sculpture in Glazed Terracotta by Alexander Ney, c 1991
By Alexander Ney
Located in Norwalk, CT
This work by celebrated artist, Alexander Ney is one of his repeated shapes which we are calling a hatchet head. This one is glazed terracotta in multi colors. Born in Leningrad in...
Terracotta
Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture, Colorful, Glazed Stoneware, Maxwell Mustardo
By Maxwell Mustardo
Located in St. Louis, MO
Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture, Colorful, Glazed Stoneware, Maxwell Mustardo Maxwell Mustardo is a ceramic artist whose highly textured forms are the result of meticulous research i...
Ceramic, Stoneware, Glaze
Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, Glazed Stoneware, 37 x 14 x 13 inches, Yamada
By Kensuke Yamada
Located in St. Louis, MO
Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, Glazed Stoneware, 37 x 14 x 13 inches, Yamada Kensuke Yamada (b. 1979) was born in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. He received his MFA from the University o...
Ceramic, Stoneware, Glaze
Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, Colorful Glaze, Bear with Me, Kensuke Yamada, 2024
By Kensuke Yamada
Located in St. Louis, MO
Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, Colorful Glaze, Bear with Me, Kensuke Yamada, 2024 Kensuke Yamada (b. 1979) was born in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. He received his MFA from the Univer...
Ceramic, Stoneware, Glaze
Abstract Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, Contemporary Glazed Stoneware, Yamada
By Kensuke Yamada
Located in St. Louis, MO
Abstract Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, Contemporary Glazed Stoneware, Yamada Kensuke Yamada (b. 1979) was born in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. He received his MFA from the University...
Stoneware, Glaze
"Naked Truth", Abstract Porcelain Sculpture, Surface Illustration, Underglaze
By Kevin Snipes
Located in St. Louis, MO
Kevin Snipes creates ceramic vessel forms that act as canvases for self referential narratives that are brought to the viewer through a combination of illustration and symbolism, obs...
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain, Glaze, Underglaze
Contemporary Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, Stoneware, Underglaze Paint, World
By Janina Myronova
Located in St. Louis, MO
Contemporary Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, Stoneware, Underglaze Paint, Ready to Conquer the World Raised and trained in both Ukraine and Poland, Janina Myronova builds highly styli...
Ceramic, Stoneware, Underglaze
