About Shibui Gallery
I would ask you to consider pottery not only for its utility but also to see it as an abstract plastic art. A very pure art which connects the art of painting and sculpture….. the words of William Staite Murray 1935, a English pottery artist
Shibui gallery opened in Bangkok in 2017 stemming from the collection of the owner John Wright.
John with a background in architecture and structural engineering worked in Hong Kong from 1978 in project management becoming a keen student and collector of asian art.
In 1994 he was recruited to manage a number of projects in Bangkok which came to a premature end in 1997 with the Asian Financial Crisis thereafter, John opened My East gallery in Bangkok based on his collection of asian art. He would regularly travel to Japan to initially source art and antiques and in 2005 was first introduced to a modern Japanese vase by Shimizu Uichi which had a strikingly architectural presence and began the collecting odyssey of modern Japanese ceramics.
His pots they did not reach out and grab you, they were fulfilled within themselves, and did not seem to care whether you liked them or not, these were his Shibui pots
Janet Leach referring to Hamada Shoji
We have introduced a Mingei section of old and new objects which we feel complement the modern and contemporary ceramics. Some of the pottery being ancient types from which the modern artists drew their inspiration.