Yukiya Izumita is born in 1966 in Rikuzentakata, in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. After completing his university studies, he worked in Tokyo for three years before choosing to return to the north of his native country to fully dedicate himself to ceramics. In 1992, he joined the Kokuji-yaki studio and began an apprenticeship under master Gakuho Simodake, a formative period during which he absorbed the gestures, constraints, and philosophy of traditional Japanese kiln practices.
In 1995, Izumita established his own kiln in Noda-mura, Iwate Prefecture. That same year marked a decisive turning point in his career: he received an excellence award at the Nissin Foods Contemporary Ceramic Art “Menbachi Grand Prize Exhibition,” the first in a long series of institutional recognitions. From the late 1990s onward, his work established itself on the major Japanese contemporary ceramics scene, particularly through his regular participation in the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition, where he won the Grand Prize twice, in 2000 and 2002, as well as an excellence award in 2009 at the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition.
From 1998, he adopted wood firing in an anagama kiln, a firing method whose unpredictable effects became central to his practice. Fire, ash, and time transform the material, producing irregular, mineral-like, almost geological surfaces. The first impression of Izumita’s works is often one of surprise: the clay seems pushed to its limits, stretched, torn, or folded like a monumental, asymmetrical origami. These highly physical forms nevertheless convey an unexpected stability, balancing fragility and strength.
From the 2000s onward, his work gained increasing international recognition. He participated in numerous major exhibitions and fairs, including Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) in New York in 2005 and SOFA Chicago in 2012 and 2016, Collect Art Fair in London in 2014, Art Stage Singapore in 2017, as well as ‘Révélations,’ the international biennial of crafts and creation at the Grand Palais in Paris in 2015, which marked an important milestone in his visibility in Europe. In parallel, his work gradually entered major museum collections.
In 2007, he opened the Noda Kiln Gallery IZUMITA in Noda-mura, Iwate Prefecture. This space is dedicated to the production and presentation of his work, further strengthening his rootedness in a region he has never ceased to inhabit.
Today, Yukiya Izumita still lives and works in the Kunohe-gun region of Tōhoku. Known for its austere landscapes, harsh climate, and constant proximity to the sea, this territory is an essential source of inspiration for the artist. This intimate relationship with his environment is reflected in a body of work in which material seems to engage directly with natural forces.
His work is now held in numerous international institutions, including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, as well as in several major Japanese collections such as the Iwate Museum of Art and the Mashiko Ceramic Art Museum.