99.  Jun Matsumura  松村淳

Jun Matsumura was born in 1986 in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. He first studied Marine Biology at the University of South Alabama before studying ceramics at the Tajimi City Institute of Ceramic Design and the Utatsuyama Craft Workshop in Kanazawa. He worked for a time in Hong Kong before returning to Miyashiro, near Kanazawa, in 2018. While studying Marine Biology, Jun Matsumura studied the ecology of marine animals and their evolutionary history. He applies that same principle of evolution to his objects, all of which, while fitting within the history of tea ware, and the traditions of the tea ceremony, are also an expression of an ultra modern, future world as outlined by anime, games and movies. Jun Matsumura is at home in both worlds; he took classes in tea ceremony, flower arranging and calligraphy while studying in Kanazawa and is familiar with high tech and advanced technology through his studies in biology. He noticed that religious beliefs had an important influence on the evolution of ceramics, which differed from his scientific background. After introspection, Jun Matsumura realized that his behavior and thought patterns were actually shaped or imprinted by religious beliefs too. By creating new shapes he explores his own consciousness and beliefs and integrates his own background into the process. He believed that this was a way to "simulate" history and thereby achieve evolution. They are intriguing works, created by multiple grinding, filing and scraping off the dried clay to create an approximate form, and to create a refined and sharp form.Mostly matte white in color, an occasional also with a beautiful contrast between the matte color and metallic gloss glaze that shines in the light as if a rainbow had been laid over the work.
Jun Matsumura, is regarded as an exceptional ceramic artist in contemporary Japanese craft, and he is often invited to major exhibitions and art fairs in Japan and many other parts of the world, including the Giant Year Gallery in Hong Kong, the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Art Beijing, China and TEFAF Maastricht, the Netherlands.