Shio Kusaka: one light year

David Zwirner is pleased to present its first exhibition with Shio Kusaka since announcing representation of the artist in 2020. Taking place at the gallery’s 519 West 19th Street location in New York, one light year will feature a singular installation of Kusaka’s new ceramic works. Known for her playful and open approach to the medium, as well as her characteristic line work and intuitive sense of color, Kusaka crafts vessels that embrace organic imperfections, recurrent techniques and patterns, and imagery that alludes to historical and contemporary forms.

In her ceramics, which are often made in distinct series, Kusaka articulates unique forms and produces complex designs with a heightened emphasis on difference and repetition, bringing awareness to poetic irregularities. Her work rewards close observation, which reveals layered intricacies and optical qualities through subtle shifts in glazing or decoration. The motifs she combines and recontextualizes—including wood grain and fruit textures, and her children’s infatuation with dinosaurs and other animals—are all influenced by her daily life. Process-oriented titles, composed of terms such as “carved” or “line” followed by a number, reveal the tactility of Kusaka’s work.

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Image: Installation view, Shio Kusaka: one light year, David Zwirner, New York, 2022.