Aya Murata

Aya Murata is an artist who is based in Kyoto, Japan who has won several awards and commissions for her dynamic and vibrant Nerikomi forms, which involves kneading two different-coloured clays together and slicing it in cross sections before forming them into complex and intricate plant and floral forms. She has staged several solo exhibitions and completed multiple artists’ residencies in Japan and internationally. Her artworks are whimsical and otherworldly; the pastel colours and uneven pattern lends a liveliness to the flowers that wouldn’t otherwise be there. She had taught ceramics to children from 2001-2003 before moving on to working with handicapped people in workshops on top of her own art practice.