Kato Mami is a ceramic artist working out of Tokoname, Japan. Her father suggested she begin working with clay during a time of illness in her college days, and it proved to be a therapeutic practice during a vulnerable time. She explains,
“I seek forms that transcend time. A silent presence that radiates a sense of universal beauty. I hope my works resonate with the natural world, whether in remote earthly landscapes like deserts, glaciers, and ocean depths, or in terrains on other planets like Mars. I surrender meaning to the viewer. I want each person to form their own personal connection with my work—to feel something, to be moved, to imagine.
There are many poetic metaphors in pottery: I think my experience has taught me that people and vessels share similarities in their breadth and ability of acceptance. This is the sanctuary that ceramics offer.”
Kato Mami’s porcelain vessels are slab-built and finished with a personally developed, frost blue glaze, revealing surfaces that suggest glaciers. Her chawan evoke similar imagery, earning her a Grand Prize at the 2019 Mino Ceramics Exhibition, and the 2021 Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition. She also became the first woman to win the Shoroku Chawan Competition in 2015.