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Anatomy of the Secret: Unusual ceramic sculptures by Mariko Wada

Japanese ceramic artist Mariko Wada was born in Osaka, but has lived in Denmark since 1998. She is widely recognised and applauded on the international arts scene and recent works have explored the role of ceramics in 'a reality that is largely mediated and virtual'.

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Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist

Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist

"The special physical qualities of ceramics allow her works to heighten the appreciation of object and space respectively; two basic human anchor points that are greatly subjected to mediatory influences. By using the organic plasticity and material immediacy of ceramics, she creates works that demand physical presence can by described as the artistic medium that is closest of all to the person.

"Clay is worked directly with the hands in an intensive process that often lasts hours and days. The slow, intense working process gives ceramic objects a special immediacy. The result is not an image, but concrete, physical objects that anchor the person in a ‘here and now’ of bodiliness and sensation." - Louise Mazanti, PhD, curator and writer.

White ceramic sculpture by Mariko Wada with flowing, draped forms suggesting fabric or a hooded figure against a neutral background
White ceramic sculpture with flowing, draped folds by Mariko Wada, concealing an unknown form beneath
White ceramic sculptures with organic, flowing forms arranged on a grey floor in a gallery space, with framed drawings on the walls behind them
Mariko Wada's ceramic installation with scattered pastel-coloured spheres on gallery floor and white ladder against plain walls with radiator and window
Terracotta ceramic sculptures by Mariko Wada scattered on a whitewashed wooden surface, including spheres with hollow centres and organic shell-like forms with textured surfaces
Abstract ceramic forms with organic curved surfaces in white, pink and blue with golden-orange openings, arranged on a white surface
White inflatable ceramic form surrounded by small orange clay figures arranged in rows on a grey floor in a white gallery space
White ceramic curved forms and an organic sculptural piece with terracotta spikes arranged on a weathered wooden surface by Mariko Wada
Terracotta ceramic fragments with organic, curled forms scattered across a grey textured surface, part of Mariko Wada's sculptural work
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