Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art will be renamed “Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art” on July 1, 2023. This exhibition, the first to be held at the museum under the new name, will commemorate the museum’s receipt of 105 works of Shizuho Funaki donated by Mr. Shoichiro Morita (Representative Director of Morita Shuzo Co., Ltd.) in February 2021.

Shizuho Funaki (1935–2013) was born to a family of Fujina ware potters living in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. While studying at Shimane University, he developed his aspiration to become a glass artist. After graduating, he worked at Shimizu Glass Factory in Osaka and then at Kagami Crystal Studio in Tokyo. During his days of working in Tokyo, he established a kiln jointly with Makoto Ito, one of his colleagues at the studio, with the aim of engaging in free creative activities. He later worked in Kitakyushu, and in 1987, he founded a studio named “Glashütte” in Hiroshima, where he focused his energy on creating his own original works.

He devoted his life to creating various handmade vessels for use in daily life, such as vases, plates, glasses, and bowls, including rice bowls, assuming sole responsibility for the entire production process, from design to finish. The vessels he created are all characterized by both a soft warmth and robustness suitable for their use, despite being made of glass. Held in the year of the 10th memorial anniversary of Shizuho Funaki, this exhibition will feature a variety of his works, which still have lasting appeal for us today.