Etsuko Tajima

Etsuko Tashima was born in Osaka-fu in 1959. She studied ceramics at the Crafts Department of Osaka University of Arts. She learned about contemporary American pottery through her teacher, Matsuo Yanagihara. For her graduation work, she presented a piece known as “Censored” , which took on the shape of her own body. After holding her first solo exhibition in 1984 at Gallery Haku, she created numerous installations composed of ceramic objects filled with colorful plants and body motifs. Her activities, which transcended the boundaries between handicrafts and contemporary art, attracted attention from the time of unveiling. She exhibited her work at “Art Now” in 1987 and 1990 (Kansai Contemporary Art of the 1980s). From 1990 onwards, her “Cornucopia” series, composed of ceramic and glass objects, received praise both in Japan and abroad. In 1994, she exhibited her work in the “Clay Work” exhibition (The National Museum of Art, Osaka). She has held solo exhibitions at the Ohara Museum of Art Yurinso (2004), the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu (2010), the Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo (2013), Otani Memorial Art Museum, Nishinomiya City (2017), and the Notojima Glass Art Museum (2019).