Born in the Shiga Prefecture in 1980, artist Shigeru Otani began working under the name Otani Workshop in 2005. For many years, he lived in the city of Shigaraki, the ancient capital of Japanese pottery well-known for its locally mined clay, and where earthenware has been produced for the last 800 years. In 2017, the artist relocated to the remote island of Awaji, off of the main island of Japan, where he refurbished an abandoned ceramic roof tile factory into his current studio. There, he creates a wide range of objects – often mixing collected materials from the island such as wood beams, old doors, or iron while still sourcing his clay from Shigaraki.

In his artworks, Otani Workshop continuously experiments with different ways of shaping, firing, and glazing. Employing a free-flowing process which involves the full body, the artist instills each object with its own life force. Their unfinished aesthetic showcases the artist’s hand in each piece. Otani’s figures—both human and animal—are unafraid to express themselves as they are, a sense of freedom which we often lose in the transition from childhood to adulthood. While most often depicted alone, they revel in solitude. While true self-expression can be perceived in society as ‘monstrous,' the softness of Otani’s figures invite empathy, playful nostalgia, and contemplation.