Hitomi Hosono’s detailed porcelain vessels reference the natural world and botanical specimens. With a chalk-like finish and gold embellishments, the work captivates with its delicacy and has attracted the patronage of museums worldwide including the British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, London and National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh.

The Scottish Gallery is honoured to present the first solo exhibition of Hitomi Hosono in Scotland in conjunction with Adrian Sassoon, London.

I find myself drawn to the intricacy of nature, examining the veins of a leaf, how its edges are shaped, the layering of a flower’s petals. I look, I touch, I draw. It is my intention to transfer the leaf ’s beauty and detail into my ceramic work, using it as my own language to weave new stories for objects. Hitomi Hosono

‘Sprigging’ is an ancient pottery decoration technique, in which clay is pressed into moulds
to create identical forms that are then applied as ornamentation on a ceramic base. Hitomi Hosono uniquely reimagines this technique, moving beyond ornamentation to craft entire vases adorned with intricate reliefs of blooming foliage, leaves, and flowers. Read our Studio Insights blog here to learn more.

Hitomi Hosono

Photography by Sylvain Deleu

Born: 1978

Place of Birth: Japan

“I sculpted a leaf that I found in the garden at home. It was a simple leaf, not particularly special amongst other leaves. However, when I started sculpting its shape with clay, I was drawn into its intricacy; the manner in which the veins were branching, how the margins ended. I found many details that I admired in this small leaf. It is my intention to transfer the leaf’s beauty and detail into my ceramic work, using it as my own language to weave new stories for objects.” Hitomi Hosono

Hitomi Hosono’s exquisitely delicate and detailed sculptures began when she sculpted a simple leaf from the garden and found herself drawn into its intricacy.

Hitomi Hosono’s ceramics are rooted in both Japanese and European traditions. Hitomi studied Kutani Pottery at Kanazawa College of Art, Japan from 1998-2002, before studying Ceramic Product Design at Danmarks Designskole, Copenhagen, Denmark from 2005-2006. She then completed an MA in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art, London from 2007-2009. Hitomi Hosono has exhibited both nationally and internationally and received the 2014 Jerwood Makers Open Prize, Jerwood Visual Arts, London and the Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon Prize, London in 2013. Hitomi is now based in London and is represented by Adrian Sassoon, London.

Public collections include: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums; Oriental Museum, Durham University; The British Museum, London; The Wedgwood Museum, Stoke-on-Trent; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet, Paris, France; Porzellanikon – Staatliches Museum für Porzellan, Selb, Germany; Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York, USA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA

The Scottish Gallery is honoured to present Hitomi Hosono’s first solo exhibition in Scotland, The White Garden, in February 2025 in conjunction with Adrian Sassoon, London

The White Garden

Hitomi Hosono

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