Born in Kyoto, Kazuo Yagi studied sculpture at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts.  Following his studies at university and the Ceramics Research Institute in Kyoto, he helped establish the Young Pottery-makers’ Collective, and co-founded the avant-garde group, Sōdeisha. 

Yagi’s focus was on making ‘objects’, which were neither purely sculptural nor simply vessels.  He produced both non-functional and utilitarian vessels, and was the first artist to introduce smoke-blackened ware, which he began in the late 1950s.  

His work has been acquired by many international public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Group Exhibitions

1. Small Works, Great Artists 28 February - 21 March 2024