Exhibit Opening - Ali Clift and Yoshinori Hagiwara

Pucker Gallery, 240 Newbury St, 3rd floor,
Boston, MA 02116

Both artists will attend the public opening.

Ali Clift’s unique and mysterious cloth paintings are delicately crafted using fabric. As a graduate of Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Clift's first cloth paintings were inspired, technically, by a picture composed of small cloth pieces on display at the MFA . Throughout her artistic career, Clift has been fascinated by the challenge of creating an authentic sense of space through the illusion of fabric. As she continues to expand her creative process, each new body of work introduces distinct subjects and a notable change in an exploration of cloth as a medium for painting. Some of the most recent works depict the beauty of nature in a surreal, narrative manner. An ardent and engaged traveler, she shares—literally and figuratively—fragments of her experiences in new environments. Clift's earlier works inspired by Mexico are featured in the book Paintings of the Last Decade: Still Life, which is the second publication featuring the artist. The first, entitled Beyond the Big Top: The Cloth Paintings and Graphic Works, explores her successful circus-themed works. Clift's work is included in public collections in New England, New York, Canada, Israel, Vietnam, and Bali. She resides in Chelsea, Massachusetts and Naples, Florida.

Yoshinori Hagiwara is the fifth generation of the Hagiwara family ceramic workshop, currently residing in Mashiko, Japan. To obtain formal training, he studied and researched at the Tochigi Prefectural Ceramics Instructional Institute. Yoshinori's work has since been selected for inclusion, and has won numerous prizes at the National Art Exhibition for multiple years. The most recent ceramics have broadened beyond his well-known persimmon glaze, and he has incorporated yellow kaki, blue nuka, and namijiro glaze into his artistic vocabulary. Creating his own expression through using these glazes, he exhibits great control in creating elegant forms. In 2014, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry designated Hagiwara as a "Traditional Craftsman." His ceramics are included in significant public collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Schein Joseph Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, and the Tikotin Museum of Art in Haifa, Israel.

To learn more, please visit the Eventbrite webpage.

Want to be the first to know about Japan-related events happening around Boston? Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter! From cultural activities to sports and language exchange, the Japan Society of Boston keeps you connected to your love of Japan.