Nao Matsunaga is guided by an exploration of ancient ceremonial traditions, and this anthropological gaze analyses similarities in past and present cultural and human interactions. Matsunaga employs clay, wood, ceramics and paper in his works. He is inspired by the unknown, fusing techniques both ancient and contemporary to create pieces that have entirely new meanings. These unique artworks speak for themselves, intended to occupy and evoke a ceremonial existence.
Rototo is comprised of glazed ceramic. Matsunaga is fascinated by working with clay, by its ability to capture movement and in a sense, time. His creative process includes ‘slap building’ and ‘blanket glazing’, techniques that he developed himself. After kiln firing, the marks made on the soft clay become permanent. Matsunaga’s practice entails engaging with the materials which he manipulates. He engages in a natural dialogue, allowing the material’s elasticity to guide the process and dictate the outcome. Matsunaga utilises references from his Anglo-Japanese background, international residencies in Arizona and Norway and interest in universal primitive objects. The artist cites diverse sources of inspiration – from Native American and Ainu tribal designs, folk and outsider art, and arte povera to Thomas Houseago, Aaron Curry and Isamu Noguchi.
Matsunaga has links to Brighton University where he studied from 1999–2002. Royal Pavilion and Museum, Brighton & Hove is continuing to position itself as a museum of making with the success of the 2019–20 pottery exhibition Cultural Icons. The acquisition of Rototo will enable opportunities for research around the nature of abstraction in contemporary ceramics.
