Arita Porcelain

The Arita Porcelain Vessels Program introduces UNM students to traditional creative processes from Arita, Japan, that have evolved over the past 400 years.

Students practice ‘art as a way, not a thing’ resulting in layers of creative practice within each porcelain form. This handmade ‘true pocelain’ is the most durable ceramic, with glaze colors becoming brilliant and translucent after the firing. Students create functional works reflecting a unique aesthetic from this time and place, with the connection to a living art.

Traditional porcelain processes from Arita were introduced to UNM’s faculty by Sensei Manji Inoue, holder of an ‘Important Intangible Cultural Property’ of Japan. Sensei Inoue continues to share this international art with students at UNM, since 1980 – one of the few universities in the world with the distinction to create porcelain within this contemporary tradition.