Artists

Yuji Toma is a ceramic artist whose work fuses traditional Okinawan pottery techniques with contemporary sculptural expression. Trained under his uncle, a master potter and Shisa maker, Toma began working in clay during his final year of high school, developing a practice rooted in the discipline of modeling while exploring new aesthetic possibilities.

Toma first gained recognition in 2008 when he received the Urasoe Mayor’s Prize at the 60th Oki Exhibition. In 2017, he was awarded the prestigious Oki Exhibition Prize for his commanding ceramic work Wind God and Thunder God, a piece noted for its dynamic energy and technical virtuosity. His practice continues to push the expressive limits of clay, often channeling mythical imagery and natural forces into bold, tactile forms.

Recent exhibitions include Kuniyoshi Seisho Homage Exhibition (Kaikai Kiki Gallery, 2024); Tokyo Wild Clay Tsuchitomo Exhibition (Kaikai Kiki Gallery, 2024); Tsuchitomo no Hakaba (Kaikai Kiki Gallery, 2023); Yuji Toma: Sometsuke (Tonoto, 2023); Dokonjōyaki: Naoki Wada & Yuji Toma (Gallery Lafayette, 2021); and Yuji Toma: Aku (Tonoto, 2020). Through these projects, Toma has emerged as a leading figure in a younger generation of Japanese ceramicists who balance reverence for tradition with fearless experimentation.