ERI SUGIMOTO

MEDIUM

Ceramics

ARTIST STATEMENT

“Form, pattern, and texture – These are key to my work. Through the paper resist technique, I’m always seeking an infinite variety of combinations of clay and slip that maximize these elements’ appeal.”

ARTIST BIO

Eri Sugimoto is a ceramic artist born in Tokyo and raised in Yokohama, Japan. In her final year as an art history student at university, she decided to enroll in a design school, which opened the way to her creativity. Following design school, she began her career as an industrial designer. Then, she completed a master’s degree in industrial design. While working as an industrial designer again in Tokyo, she encountered the world of clay and started learning hand-building at a ceramic studio. After moving to the United States in 2005, she began learning wheel throwing. Since then, she has been enjoying exploring and challenging her creativity in her studio in Orange County, CA.

Eri uses the paper-resist technique in her ceramic work. First, she creates distinct paper patterns for each piece. Then, using the ceramic body of the piece as a canvas, she lays out these paper patterns on it. After applying the original slip or glaze slip (which she makes) over it, she peels off the patterns. Finally, she adds the finishing touches carefully and repeatedly by hand before the bisque and the final firing.

Form, pattern, and texture—these are the significant elements of her work. Eri is always seeking an infinite variety of combinations of clay and slip which maximize the appeal of these elements. The asymmetry and dynamic composition in her work may have been influenced by her experience of studying Japanese Middle Age art on folding screens, ink paintings, sliding screen paintings, and illustrated scrolls in her early days as an art history student.