Urara Tsuchiya

Urara Tsuchiya (b. 1979, Japan) lives and works between Glasgow and London. The artist’s expansive practice– spanning intricately constructed ceramics, immersive installations, costume, performance and video– is united by its subversion of kitsch or quotidian objects to break down boundaries of acceptability in her humorous, often playful, work. She has found inspiration everywhere from a nude sauna to seedy hotel rooms, and creates immersive environments that are likely to surprise. By adopting narratives from personal conversations, but also films or TV shows, Tsuchiya is concerned with pushing the boundaries of comfortability. 

Recent solo exhibitions include: Throwing Caution to the Wind, Galerie Lefebre & Fils, Paris (2021), Auntie Urara’s Blabber Mouth, PAOS, Guadalajara (2021), Warm Drizzle, Gallery Golsa, Oslo (2020) and Home Bound, Ada Project, Rome (2020). Selected group exhibitions include: Pornotopia Revised, Kunsthalle Exnergasse Kex, WUK, Vienna (2022), On Being an Angel (with Motoko Ishibashi), Ritsuki Fujisaki Gallery, Tokyo (2022) and Homeplace, V.O Curations, London (2021), amongst others.

Night Tree, 2023, glazed ceramic, 53 x 47 x 42 cm

Piggy’s Dream, 2022, glazed ceramic, 15 cm x 43 cm

Untitled (lamp), 2020, glazed stoneware, 30 cm x 26 cm x 40 cm

Untitled, 2019, glazed stoneware, 63cm x 44 cm x 23cm

Untitled, 2019, glazed stoneware, 13 cm tall

Untitled, 2019, glazed stoneware, 33 cm x 20 cm

Beef Case , 2019, glazed stoneware, 43 cm x 36cm x 19cm

Mini Bar, 2019, glazed stoneware with moving parts, 55 cm x 40 cm

Untitled, 2019, glazed stoneware, 58 x 23 x 38cm

Give us a Meow (still), 2019, video, 9 minutes 3 seconds

JUST cLoSE YoUR EYES anD IMaGInE I HaVEn’T EVoLVED’, 2016, glazed earthenware, 20 cm x 7 cm x 10 cm

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Panda Bowl (commission), 2020, glazed earthenware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Installation view, Room Service, Union Pacific, 2016

Room Service, Union Pacific, 2016

Room Service, Union Pacific, 2016

Room Service, Union Pacific, 2016

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

World Doesn't Revolve Around You, 2023, glazed ceramic, 78 cm x 74 cm x 64 cm

Untitled, 2020, glazed earthenware, approx 30 x 18 cm

Installation view of Frieze Focus booth 2019

Why Men Love Bitches, 2019, paint on silk, 62 cm x 52 cm

Untitled, 2019, glazed stoneware, 20 cm x 20 cm

Untitled, 2019, glazed stoneware, 20 cm x 20 cm

Untitled (Sauna), 2019, glazed stoneware, 42 x 30 x 30 cm

Untitled, 2019, glazed stoneware, 28 x 70 x 39cm

Give us a Meow (still), 2019, video, 9 minutes 3 seconds

Untitled (Elsa fountain), 2019, glazed earthenware, 80 cm x 73 cm

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Installation view, Room Service, Union Pacific, 2016

Installation view, Room Service, Union Pacific, 2016

Room Service, Union Pacific, 2016

Room Service, Union Pacific, 2016

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable

Just Close Your Eyes and Imagine I Haven’t Evolved, 2016, glazed earthenware and stoneware, dimensions variable