Chisato Yasui

Chisato Yasui, ceramic and mixed media artist, was born in 1984 in Aichi Prefecture. She began her studies in oil painting but was then influenced by the artistic approach of Professor and ceramic artist Toshiju Saito, that consists of positioning the material above artist’s sentiments in the creation process. However, he also argued that simply obeying the material's voice is not good either, thereby urging artists to train themselves finding out the truth with our own senses. That is how Chisato realized that clay offers her the opportunities she was looking for to express her feelings and soul. She then obtained her master’s degree in Art and Design from the University of Tsukuba in 2010 and currently resides in Tsukuba-city, Ibaraki.
Chisato’s sculptural works are created using coil forming, which allows her to maintain flexibility and create forms that can be cut, separated, or combined. This specific technique allows the artist to follow her instincts and consequently be more intuitive and spontaneous in the process of art creation. Chisato uses both porcelain and stoneware, as well as glazed and pigmented clay. Chisato uses both porcelain and stoneware, as well as glazed and pigmented clay.

Works from the series Profile, Fort and Monolith, are formed by oxidation firing with up to three different glazes to the body, generating innovative textures and colours. Their abstract and geometric shapes are similar to what can be found in nature, in the form of crystal rocks.

Chisato’s work explores the complexity of the world we live in and the limitations of existing constructs, cultures, societies, and respective histories. The artist believes that there are some fluid situations that can’t be easily categorized or expressed in a language, and that the human experience and identity often transcends rigid boundaries. Chisato suggests that there are aspects of our existence that cannot be adequately captured or described by existing structures we use to understand and navigate the world. Her ceramic creations explore those fluid contexts, using the medium to communicate and evoke emotions beyond the limitations of language. Furthermore, she challenges established assumptions, offering alternative perspectives, and inviting viewers to consider the complexity of our existence. Chisato’s desire to explore and discover the unidentified or, sometimes, hidden aspects of our world, her curiosity about the elusive aspects of our existence, and her creative process become a way of contextualizing the unknown. She expresses a fascination with the liminal state, which represents a threshold between the known and the unknown, consciousness and subconsciousness. Her sculptural works go beyond a mere representation and seek to evoke a sense of the ineffable, opening up possibilities for new interpretations and understandings of the world around us.

Chisato finds it fascinating that in ceramics, the artwork itself becomes the narrator, expressing emotions and revealing the visible context of the unknown. It is a sort of rebirth when clay is transformed into ceramics; and when she holds the completed pieces, they convey to the artist a sense of original and unidentifiable context. 

Chisato’s art pieces explore these liminal spaces, offering viewers an opportunity to contemplate hidden dimensions of our world and their connection to our own subjective experiences. Her works' interaction with existing constructs is intended to stimulate viewers' exploration of their own new contexts.

Chisato Yasui has gained recognition amongst the Japanese art community over the past years and she has exhibited her outstanding ceramic sculptures in numerous exhibitions in Japan and in Europe. In 2021, she was invited to participate in the Women's Association of Ceramic Art exhibition.

Selected works