Yasuhisa Kohyama’s masterly ceramics are inspired by the ancient Shigaraki, Jōmon and Yayoi ceramics of Japan. Using the distinctive Shigaraki clay and a wood-firing anagama kiln, he has created modern ceramic vessels and sculpture, which are vigorous and new, but timeless in their beauty. Kohyama shapes his asymmetrical forms using a piano string, thereby creating distinctive, rough surfaces. The clay with its nuggets of feldspar creates a tactile quality not often seen in contemporary work. No glazes are used, but the wood ash and the placement in the kiln produce an extraordinary array of colours and shading on the surface. Kohyama’s works are owned by leading museums worldwide, including the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; the Musée National de Ceramique, Sèvres; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.