中田一志 Kazushi Nakada
Art Statement
— From Material to Humanity, From Memory to the Present —
Born into a family of ceramicists—my father and grandfather were both potters—craft was always a part of my life. My creative practice began with a fascination for materials and techniques, and gradually evolved into a deeper inquiry into human existence and the complexities of society.
In the early 1990s, I moved to the UK and found myself immersed in a multicultural environment shaped by diverse races, religions, and historical backgrounds. It was there that I first encountered “humanity” and “social nature” not as abstract ideas, but as vivid, lived experiences. Encounters with discrimination, as well as unexpected acts of kindness from strangers, etched into me a profound awareness of the complexity and duality of human relationships. These experiences quietly but unmistakably transformed my practice. Themes such as social injustice and ethics, the continuity of memory and history, and the tensions between the individual and the state began to form the core of my artistic concerns.
Historical testimonies shared by many people I met while living and working across Europe in the late 1990s had a particularly deep impact on my perspective. A Romanian acquaintance once told me about the 1989 revolution and the dramatic escapes that unfolded during the Pan-European Picnic, which eventually led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her colleague's old woman who spent her life searching for her missing younger brother, conveyed a deeply embodied and personal history. These were not merely historical facts—they were lived histories, told through memory and the body. Gradually, my work shifted toward a space where individual voices intersect with social and political contexts.
Out of this trajectory emerged the project White Process 1 to 0, which I began in 2013. This work focuses on the process of disappearance—of politics, of life, and of objects—through the ritualistic act of painting ruins white. In 2015, I launched My Archaeology, a long-term ritual-based art project exploring the relationship between memory, time, and the human condition. By creating episodic memories and burying them as physical objects in nature, the project becomes a meditation on forgetting and remembering, loss and preservation—an attempt to coexist with time.
My projects incorporate various media including sound, video, ceramics, and photography, resulting in a wide range of outcomes. From installations made of porcelain dumplings to videos featuring pink cats, my works may seem fragmented or lacking in coherence at first glance. Yet, my practice is consistently rooted in a deep concern for social issues and an enduring interest in the human condition. These core elements form the thread that weaves through all of my works, quietly shaping a distinctive artistic voice. My current practice explores the tension that lies between memory and history, ethics and systems, and the individual and the collective. While material and technique remain important elements in my work, they now function more as instruments of expression rather than ends in themselves. For me, art is a space that makes visible the invisible conflicts and the unheard voices—a space that continually raises questions for the viewer.
Looking back, I may have been destined to inherit my father’s path and become a potter in the town where I was born. But by moving to Europe, I came to know the world—and came to know art. Art may not be able to directly save lives like medicine, nor provide spiritual comfort like religion. But perhaps it can make people think, realize, and act.
When my Romanian acquaintance spoke of the old woman, she smiled—but there were tears in her eyes. Later, I came to realize that I too had become one of those who thought, recognized, and acted.
CV
Kazushi Nakada
Based in Helsinki Finland and Shanghai China
Member of the Association of Finnish Sculptors
Honorable degree, Ukrainian Ministry of Education, Academy of Art Lviv, Ukraine
Solo Exhibition
2024
-Shanghai Chongmin island art project “White process 1 to 0” Chongmin island Shanghai
-Art project, KN-Artoy, Flower monster. Tsutaya books store太古里 Shanghai China
2022
“Art project, KN-Artoy, Flower monster” 尚合院gallery, Ningbo China
“Art project, KN-Artoy, Flower monster” 白川gallery, Nanjing China
2021
Art project "My archaeology", Art Front Gallery, Tokyo Japan
2019
Art project “Pink Copycat” video & photography installation. Gallery M space, Shanghai China
2018
Art project " My Archaeology", Shanghai glass museum, Shanghai China
2006
Kazushi Nakada artwork, Mentzendorff House/gallery, Riga Latvia
2004
“Infinity”, The Finnish glass museum, Riihimäki Finland
2003
“Wall X”, Outside public installation, Esplanadi, Helsinki light festival, Helsinki Finland
Selected exhibitions
2010-2021
2021
Group exhibition “665448”, Haapsalu Linna Gallery, Haapsalu Estonia
Group exhibition “Love is more”, Being Art Museum, Shanghai China
2020
The online video project, 60day of lockdown, Luxelakes A4 Art Museum, Chengdu China
2019
Group exhibition, Objekti 5, Espoo Finland
International symposium Lviv Academy of Art, Lviv Ukraine
The art project, "Please copy me", Shanghai China
2017
Ningbo international art and Glass European/ Asian Conference, Ningbo, China
Vediet' vidiet´, mal'ovat' (sklo ako plátno), gallery Medium, Bratislava Slovakia
To know, To see, To paint (Glass as a Canvas)
2016
International glass symposium Lviv Academy of Art, Lviv Ukraine
2013
Exhibition “Abandoned house” gallery Makslas Banka, Riga Latvia
Exhibition “glass art” gallery Levant Art, Shanghai China
2012
Exhibition “11th International Glass Symposium IGS”,
Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Prague Czech Republic
2011
International Glass Symposium Nobý Bor Czech Republic
European glass exhibition Wroclaw railway station gallery, Wroclaw Poland
2010
Exhibition “Finnish glass lives” Riihimäki Finland
Exhibition “Glass voice” Latvian Academy of Arts, Riga Latvia
Exhibition “25 years anniversary” Ebeltoft glass museum, Ebeltoft Denmark
2009
Exhibition “Finnish glass art” MUDAM, Luxembourg
2008
Exhibition “Finnish glass art & design”
Industrial Museum, Düsseldorf Germany
Glasmuseum Hentrich, museum kunst palast Dortmund Germany
2007
Exhibition “Kolme= San”, Jarvenpää Talo, Jarvenpää Finland
Exhibition “Finnish glass”, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art Istanbul, Turkey
2006
L’art du verre Finlandais, Nancy France
Coburg prize, selected artist, Coburg Germany
International glass symposium “RONA” & Exhibition
“Unknown forms” Lednické Rovne, Slovakia
Exhibition Glass Voice, Latvian applied art museum, Riga Latvia
2005
Global art glass triennial, Borgholm Sweden
2004
International competition of glass Kanazawa, selected artist, Kanazawa Japan
Exhibition “Works in Bardibukk 2004”, Kaposbar Hungary
Solo exhibition “Infinity”, The Finnish glass museum, Riihimäki Finland
Exhibition “Vetri nel mondo oggi”, Palazzo Franchetti, Venice Italy
2003
Group exhibition “LANDSCAPE, GLASS FROM FINLAND AND
SPAIN”, Espaividre Gallery, Barcelona Spain
Permanent Collection
Being Art Museum, Shanghai China
The Finnish glass museum, Riihimäki Finland
Glasmuseet Ebeltoft Denmark.
Susan and Martin Gould, Philadelphia, the US
Kaj Franck Square, Arabianranta, public installation, Helsinki Finland
National Museum of Art Lviv, Lviv Ukraine
Decorative Art Museum of Prague, Prague Czech Republic
Shanghai glass museum, Shanghai China
Green wave glass museum, Ningbo China
Private collections in Asia, Europe, and the USA
Education
1987~1990
Tokyo Glass Art Institute, postgraduate program, Kawasaki Japan
1992~1994
Royal College of Art, Ceramics and Glass Dept. MA, London England
Working experience
1997~2016
Full-time teacher, Senior Lecturer
University of Art and Design Helsinki / Aalto University, School of Art and Design, Faculties.
2010~2011
Professor
Moholy Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest Hungary
2013 September
Invited artist & lecturer
Rochester Institute of Technology,
College of Image Science and Technology, NY USA
2017 October
Invited Professor
Wroclaw Academy of Arts, Glass dept, Wroclaw Poland