AARON SCYTHE

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE VIEWING ROOM | JULY 7 - AUGUST 29, 2026

Cavin-Morris Gallery is pleased to present an on-line special viewing of new pieces by artist Aaron Scythe.

Aaron Scythe is an accomplished ceramic artist known for his innovative blend of Japanese and Western pottery techniques. Originally from New Zealand, Scythe trained at Carrington Polytechnic in 1988 and East Sydney Polytechnic in 1989, where he cultivated a fascination with Momoyama-period pottery. This led him to explore traditional Japanese ceramic styles, including Shino glazes, Oribe, and Kizeto ware.

In 1995, Scythe traveled to Japan to study Minoyaki pottery under the renowned potter Koie Ryoji. He spent over a decade and a half in Mashiko, Japan, where he honed his craft, built Anagama kilns, and held more than 60 solo exhibitions. His work during this time reflected his deep engagement with Japanese ceramic traditions while incorporating his personal artistic innovations.

Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Scythe relocated with his family to Te Aroha, New Zealand. There, his creative focus evolved to include English slipware techniques, continuing his tradition of blending historical ceramic methods with contemporary expression. Scythe's practice reflects his dynamic approach to form, glaze, and surface decoration, drawing from a wide array of cultural and technical influences. He remains a highly regarded figure in the global ceramics community.

His pieces read like like a contemporary stream of consciousness, a moving contemplation on Japanese aestheticism, on philosophy, single words and folk and classic images that activate the surfaces combined with abstract patterns that push forward the more specific images.

From the artist:

What I make I feel comes from me ………
When you look around at everything ………
There is beautiful design everywhere ………
Yet it is made in a factory ,often without thoughts of ………
Nothing left of the human soul ……..
Completely dehumanised soulless beauty……
Like talking to a wall waiting for an answer…..nothing
Yes what I make I feel comes from me …………
Designed yet often not thought out
Fingerprints, imperfect forms, distortion, soul
A human expression ……………

We love the work that reflects aspects of passing time, through imagery, color and technique Scythe builds a continuum of historical references that meet again in the present, and in a very real sense shape the future.

Aaron Scythe
Yobitsugi style winter tea bowl, 2024
Stoneware and porcelain
4 x 5.25 x 5.75 inches
10.2 x 13.3 x 14.6 cm
ASc 69

$850