Akio Nukaga is finally back in LA!
This time, he’s sharing new work and fresh iterations of beloved forms alongside his daughter, fellow ceramicist Ayano Shioya. Forms of Family highlights each artist’s distinctive style and technique—and celebrates the unique bond they share as members of the same family, studio, and creative tradition.
Akio Nukaga has been a beloved member of Heath’s extended family since 2009, and has earned global acclaim for his rustic yet refined aesthetic sensibility—a byproduct of his interest in both primitive art and modern design. In Forms of Family, Akio shares ''both new encounters and reunions,'' including novel forms (stools, ornamental tiles) and expressions from earlier phases of his journey as a ceramicist. Here, familiar ideas (like his double-neck vessels) take on new life, reflecting his continued growth as an artist and his ever-changing perspective on the possibilities of the medium.
Akio and Ayano will be in Los Angeles in July to debut this collection–we’d love to have you join us. Get more info here.
This time, he’s sharing new work and fresh iterations of beloved forms alongside his daughter, fellow ceramicist Ayano Shioya. Forms of Family highlights each artist’s distinctive style and technique—and celebrates the unique bond they share as members of the same family, studio, and creative tradition.
Akio Nukaga has been a beloved member of Heath’s extended family since 2009, and has earned global acclaim for his rustic yet refined aesthetic sensibility—a byproduct of his interest in both primitive art and modern design. In Forms of Family, Akio shares ''both new encounters and reunions,'' including novel forms (stools, ornamental tiles) and expressions from earlier phases of his journey as a ceramicist. Here, familiar ideas (like his double-neck vessels) take on new life, reflecting his continued growth as an artist and his ever-changing perspective on the possibilities of the medium.
Akio and Ayano will be in Los Angeles in July to debut this collection–we’d love to have you join us. Get more info here.
While Heath, Ayano, and I all work in pottery, our ‘forms’ are different. However, I believe we all share the same goal: to make the lives of modern people more beautiful and fulfilling.
Ayano Shioya’s very first public exhibition was hosted at Heath San Francisco in 2024. That body of work, titled Secret Bases, played upon her background in architecture with a series of tiny, abstracted living spaces: ''I think of each piece as a small dwelling, and imagine small people and animals inside.'' In Forms of Family, she continues exploring this theme across a new range of sculptures (including a wall-mounted piece), experimenting with scale to evoke the comfort and safety of a personal refuge. This thematic focus reflects a period of emotional growth—and newfound self-assurance—for Ayano: ''All the warm exchanges I’ve had through sharing my work has made me realize that it’s okay to value my personality, my life, and the different facets of my style. More than as an artist, I think I’ve changed as a person.''
The ‘shelter’ theme comes from my childhood... A closet packed full of things, or a pile of blankets on my bed; someplace small where I felt safe. Through my work, I hope everyone can imagine a ‘shelter’ of their own.
At its heart, Forms of Family is a celebration of personal encounters, from the first meeting between Akio and the Heath team more than fifteen years ago to the daily interactions between Akio and Ayano in their shared studio. That’s why we’re so excited to host an in-person event in LA to showcase these new works; it’s a chance to gather, mingle, and make new connections. When nurtured, even the briefest encounter can evolve into something meaningful, beautiful, and long-lasting. Forms of Family is proof.
Event details—including information about the show’s opening on July 24, the live demonstration on July 25, and the book-signing for Akio’s My Ceramic Journey—can be found here.
Event details—including information about the show’s opening on July 24, the live demonstration on July 25, and the book-signing for Akio’s My Ceramic Journey—can be found here.
