Drift

I often think about what the familiar objects around us are truly made of and what they actually are—not in terms of their chemical materials, but in terms of the characteristics and background of the materials themselves.

This stems from the feeling that we only understand the surface level of the things in front of us, remaining indifferent and oblivious to the "hidden backgrounds" that they carry.

Even objects we pass by without a second thought—like rotting trash on the roadside, rusty hangers left out on a balcony, or inexpensive secondhand folk crafts bought for 100 yen—each carries its own story or reflects the backdrop of a certain era.

For the works I created this time, I selected motifs such as items collected from thrift stores and discarded parts. These secondhand goods, ranging from local folk crafts and traditional artworks to souvenirs from tourist spots, carry a variety of histories, though their specific journeys to end up in shops or online resale platforms remain a matter of imagination. Still, they seem to have traveled far from their original value. In a way, it feels like glimpsing a microcosm of human activity—a somewhat grand way of putting it, perhaps.

In this exhibition, titled *Drift*, I aim to capture and preserve the worn shapes of these "drifting objects," shaped by cultural birth, dissemination, consumption, and reuse. Through these works, I present an expression that serves as a metaphor for contemporary society.
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Yuuya Morikawa
Born in 1993, Mie Prefecture
2017 Completed the Graduate Program in Craft, Department of Fine Arts, Tama Art University

Solo Exhibitions

2024: “Drift”, MJK Gallery (Tokyo)
2019: “Still Eating”, plat.inc (Tokyo)
“nonsense”, Iriya Gallery (Tokyo)
2018: “MORIKAWA YUUYA pottery exhibition”, Isetan Sagamihara (Kanagawa)
2016: “Gazing at the Landscape”, Iriya Gallery (Tokyo)
Group Exhibitions

2024: “CERAMIX”, Seibu Shibuya Art Gallery & Alternative Space (Tokyo)
“Expressing Illusions: Satoshi Shimauchi, Kazuo Sekii, Yuuya Morikawa”, Nihombashi Takashimaya S.C. Art and Craft Salon (Tokyo)
2023: “Chronicle: Strata of Repetition”, MJK Gallery (Tokyo)
“Ceramic Synergy: Technique and Expression, Craft and Art, Individual and Collective”
Matsui Toshio Award / Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art (Kyoto)
2022: “#ART GOES ON”, SEASIDE STUDIO CASO (Osaka)
“Iriya Gallery Project: 11㎡ Sculpture Exhibition #06”, Iriya Gallery (Tokyo)
2021: “Forms with Handles Part 3”, Gallery VOICE (Gifu)
2019: “Intersecting Perspectives: Assistant Exhibition at Tama Art University”, FEI ART MUSEUM YOKOHAMA (Kanagawa)
2017: “Value Price: Iriya Gallery Young Artist Support Project Vol.7”, Iriya Gallery (Tokyo)
2016: “Asia Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition 2016”, NTCRI Contemporary Craft Design Branch Museum, Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute (Taiwan)
2015: “Art Forum Mie: UPDATE”, Mie Center for the Arts (Mie)
“Firework: Tama Art University Craft Department Graduation Exhibition”, SPIRAL GARDEN (Tokyo)
2014: “Expressions After the Earthquake: BOXART – Metaphors for Sharing”,
Group Work / Rias Ark Museum of Art (Miyagi)
Art Fairs

2023: “Study: Art & Creative Fair”, Grand Front Osaka (Osaka)
Open Calls

2024: XVI International Ceramics Biennial of Manises (Selected), Sala Els Filtres (Valencia, Spain)
2023: 71st Saitama Art Exhibition (Selected), Museum of Modern Art Saitama (Saitama)
2023 ZERO Exhibition (ZERO Award), Takarazuka City Cultural Arts Center (Hyogo)
2019: 3rd Seto Toshiro Triennale (Selected), Seto City Art Museum (Aichi)
Collections

Rias Ark Museum of Art (Donated)
Other Achievements

2024: Featured in Monthly Art Collectors
2022: Featured in THE POT: A Modern Flowerpot Encyclopedia
2020: 2nd Cohort, Ceramic Artist Grant, Contemporary Art and Culture Promotion Foundation