Yoca Muta — The Gaze of Fire
22 August – 4 September 2026
PLEASE NOTE: Private Opening with Artist in Attendance — Saturday 22 August, 3pm
This private opening is now fully subscribed.
The Stratford Gallery is delighted to present The Gaze of Fire, the second UK solo exhibition by Japanese artist Yoca Muta.
The gallery first introduced Muta san's work to the UK in 2019, beginning a relationship that has allowed us to follow the development of an increasingly distinctive and ambitious artistic practice. Following her first UK solo exhibition with the gallery in 2023, The Gaze of Fire brings together an exceptional new body of work created for her return to Broadway.
Muta san's work is immediately recognisable for the extraordinary quality of her painting, but its achievement extends far beyond decoration. Over many years she has developed a highly individual language of form across guinomi, tokkuri, katakuchi, chawan and larger object works. Even before the first painted mark is made, these forms carry what might be described as a silent signature: a distinctive command of proportion, balance and profile that has become unmistakably her own.
The relationship between form and painting is fundamental. The ceramic surface is never simply a ground upon which an image is placed. Its curves, changes of plane and areas of open space determine how the painting develops around the object, what is revealed, what is concealed and, importantly, where Muta san chooses not to paint.
The Gaze of Fire also introduces an important parallel development in her practice.
Alongside the luminous surfaces traditionally associated with her Kutani work, Muta san has increasingly embraced wood firing, following the restoration of a disused kiln near her studio in Ishikawa with her husband, Hisashi. Working independently with the kiln has opened an entirely different set of possibilities. Flame, ash and atmosphere create surfaces that cannot be completely predetermined, requiring Muta san to consider not only the relationship between painting and form, but how both might respond to the unpredictable contribution of fire.
The result is not a departure from the work for which she has become internationally recognised. Rather, it represents an expansion of her artistic language. Traditional Kutani surfaces and the emerging wood fired works now exist as parallel paths within a practice that continues to evolve with remarkable confidence.
At the centre of both lies perhaps Muta san's greatest strength: judgement. The ability to understand what a particular form requires; where painting should speak and where it should remain silent; when the fire has already contributed enough; and how these different elements might be brought into balance.
The Gaze of Fire offers an opportunity to encounter this evolving practice through a significant new collection of unique works, and we are thrilled to present Muta san's second UK solo exhibition.
Exhibition Dates
22 August – 4 September 2026
Private Opening with Artist in Attendance — Saturday 22 August, 3pm
This private opening is now fully subscribed.
General viewing begins Monday 24 August and continues until Thursday 3 September at The Stratford Gallery, Broadway, Cotswolds.
