Shingu Sayaka’s “Erosion No. 4 Shokka (Eroding Flower),” 2021, is part of a new exhibition featuring the avant-garde clay sculptures of Japanese women artists (photo by Richard Goodbody).
Phoenix Art Museum presents a major exhibition this month featuring avant-garde clay sculptures by nearly 40 under-recognized Japanese women artists
Opening Sept. 24, “Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan” provides a unique opportunity to discover the technical achievements and creativity of leading women ceramicists from post-war Japan, highlighting their discovery of new possibilities for clay and its potential as a radical medium.
“Radical Clay” celebrates the originality and virtuosity of 36 women artists from Japan who have explored sculptural expression outside the traditional field of Japanese studio ceramics since the 1970s. The exhibition’s 40 avant-garde works are drawn from the Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz Collection of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, considered one of the leading collections of Japanese contemporary ceramics outside of Japan, and explore wide-ranging content and motifs, including the human body, geology, flora and fantastical abstract forms. Through the evocative display, visitors discover an often-overlooked history of Japanese women artists who have made significant contributions to the traditionally male-dominated field of ceramics since World War II.
“Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan” will be on view at PhxArt through Aug. 9, 2026. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary donation times on Wednesdays from 3 to 8 p.m., and First Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. For additional information, call 602-257-1880 or visit www.phxart.org.
