The Embrace, 2025

Don Nakamura

earthenware, glaze

12" Diameter x 2 1/4" Depth

Looking for something new and exciting? This dish by Don Nakamura is endlessly fascinating. The graphic images and drawings across the surface tantalize the senses and activate the imagination. The images almost seem nonsensical and out of this world but Nakamura's work is often rooted in his life experiences. Nakamura abstracts these images and they are reinterpreted through the materiality of the clay and the glazes and underglazes. The dish is a perfect canvas for Nakamura's creative mind.

Artist Statement

"My ceramics are based on personal experiences, situations and desires - sometimes camouflaged by abstraction, sometimes literal. My journey through life is what inspires me and gives birth to my work. Curiosity and wonder sustain me and allow me to move forward. Technically my pieces adhere to the ceramic process, utilizing clay, underglazes, glazes, and the firing process."

Artist Biography

An accomplished artist, Don Nakamura has received many awards, including Fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He was born in Hawaii and earned his BFA in ceramics from Kansas City Art Institute, and his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, before moving to Philadelphia where he was a Franklin Mint Fellow Resident Artist at The Clay Studio and is currently an active member of The Clay Studio's artistic community as an Associate Artist. He has had solo shows at The Clay Studio, the Philadelphia Airport, and was part of a two person show at the Cahoon Art Museum in Provincetown, RI.

Donated by the Artist - Don Nakamura

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