Akiko Hirai | A Tale of North and South

We are delighted to announce that Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums (AAGM) recently purchased View from the Aeroplane, a large moon jar by renowned ceramicist Akiko Hirai. The intriguing design was inspired by a flight the artist took over Alaska. This purchase was made possible by funding from the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums and the National Fund for Acquisitions. AAGM has a strong track record collecting studio ceramics and purchased work by Lara Scobie from us in recent years too, also supported by the National Fund for Acquisitions. They are planning a new exhibition of studio ceramics made by more than 70 artist-potters, including Michael Cardew, Clive Bowen, Svend Bayer, Chris Keenan and Walter Keeler, opening in Spring 2025. Visitors can handle the pots and learn about the art and science of pottery.

View from the Aeroplane is an extraordinary vessel made for her exhibition at The Gallery in November 2023 – Pendulum. The Gallery has enjoyed working with Akiko Hirai since she graduated from Central St Martins in 2003. Since this time, we have seen her rise to one of the world’s finest living studio ceramic artists.

Aberdeen Art Gallery is home to one of the finest collections in the country. The collection spans 700 years and includes a staggering range of works by local, national and international artists, designers and makers. For over 130 years they have been acquiring the best and most interesting contemporary artworks.

Designed in the neo-classical style by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, Aberdeen Art Gallery opened in 1885. It was extended in the 1920s with the addition of the Cowdray Hall concert venue, the interior Remembrance Hall and the exterior Cenotaph, all by the original architect. Between 2015 and 2019 the Art Gallery underwent a landmark redevelopment supported by Aberdeen City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund and led by Hoskins Architects. With more treasures on display and vastly improved visitor facilities, the Art Gallery must-see for local people and visitors to the city.

Learn more about the redevelopment of Aberdeen art Gallery by watching their short film here

In 2019 the V&A, London acquired Akiko’s largest moon jar to date, Eclipse Night, from her exhibition Under the Cherry Tree at The Scottish Gallery. The V&A currently has a special display, British Studio Pottery and the V&A. Ceramics made by independent artist-potters emerged as a distinct art form in the 1910s and ’20s. This display explores the V&A’s collecting and exhibiting of studio pottery from the movement’s beginnings to the present day and continues until September 2025. You can read more here.

In his introductory essay, Alun Graves, Senior Curator of Ceramics at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, provides all lovers of ceramics – collectors, practitioners, historians and those interested in modern and contemporary art and crafts – with the historical context, documenting this shift in the medium into an expressive, and sometimes interventionist, art form.

Shortlisted for the 2024 Berger Prize. Purchase your copy here