Unveiling Chisato Yasui: A Deep Dive into her Works

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.

The reason why she chooses ceramics as a method of production is that it lacks any constraints imposed by a framework, thereby granting her the freedom she is looking for. She is also interested in distancing herself from her social and cultural stereotypes. Ceramic production will enable her to find and create a more direct connection with the providence of the universe.

She does not want to categorize her creation within a conventional framework, such as to define her work, by words such as ceramic, craft, or even art. She simply wants her sculptural work to exist by itself.

She aspires that visitors may perceive her art as a reflection of their own inner self. Like the surface of the water, which leads to the truth hidden in the depths of this world, or as a door that opens only when the time is right.

She feels strongly that she exists not as nothing else, but as herself through the ceramic creation process. It provides her with the joy of 'living' and the steadfast determination to 'live', and she aspires that viewers will experience the same sentiment.

Through her abstract sculptures in polyhedron forms with multiple facets, she expresses the many meanings and possibilities of individual existence in this world. She applies colours on each side, which act as a mirror, reflecting the emotions and sensations of each viewer.

They stand enigmatic and immobile, as silent sentinels awaiting to interact with the viewer's gaze. They will be perceived as alive by the viewers' subconscious mental structure. Additionally, they could invoke spirituality.

Chisato Yasui perceives the glazes as if they were paintings, owing to her prior training in oil painting. It is as if the ceramic sculpture becomes a canvas. She makes colour selections based on her intuitive senses, and she prefers a matte finish.

The impetus behind the Profile, A Fort The Void and Monolith series stems from the sentiment and perception her inner-world is akin to the architectural design of a house, wherein each room serves a distinct purpose. These rooms are separated by walls and doors with some corridors that connect them together, and the windows are the separation between the inside and the outside world. The multifaceted nature of a house resonates with the multiple facets that she feels inside her. 

She does not have an entire image of the finished form when she begins to create a sculpture, as she wishes to allow her intuition and subconscious to take part in its shaping. Through the creation process, she develops a physical communication between her body and the clay that is both intuitive and non-verbal. The coil forming technique employed in the construction of a piece enables her to alter the axis of a form, alternate the bottom and top, to cut and separate the pieces, and finally combine them into the final shape. This technique allows her to give free rein to her intuition and spontaneity.

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.