'Estiu Japó 86' contemporary Japanese pottery. An artistic exchange between Spain and Japan

Abstract

This essay aims to analyze the meeting 'Estiu Japó 86', produced in the summer of 1986 in the municipality of Olot, in the province of Gerona, by ceramists, mainly from Spain and Japan. This summer meeting was organized by the Cooperativa de Ceramistas Coure, established in 1979 in Olot. Since its foundation, this group began to organize summer courses, in which potters were invited annually to make theirs works known, their trends, the different ways of creating and interpreting pottery.

Furthemore, the Cooperativa de Ceramistas Coure carried out the summer course 'Estiu Japó 86', where it invited to join participate several well-known Japanese artists such as: Yanagihara Mutsuo, Morino Hiroaki Taimei, Rikichi Miyanaga, Satoru Hoshino, Koie Ryoji, Mishima Kimiyo and Takako Araki. The meeting allowed to establish bilateral relations between these two cultures around the pottery. There was an artistic exchange between the participants and, it changed the pre-established idea about contemporary Japanese pottery in our country up to that moment.

Currently, the pottery pieces produced in 'Estiu Japó 86' are located in the Garrotxa Museum of Olot. We would also like to highlight this collection of contemporary Japanese pottery, which stands out for its uniqueness within the sets of contemporary Japanese art in Spain.