Dallas is about to meet clay like it has never seen it before. From November 15, 2026, through October 31, 2027, the Dallas Museum of Art presents Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan, a joyful celebration of 36 contemporary Japanese women ceramic artists in the museum’s Chilton II Gallery.
Drawn from the renowned Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Collection, the exhibition brings together innovative, technically ambitious sculptures created since the 1970s by both established and emerging artists. Visitors will wander among works that explore human anatomy, flowers and plants, geology and dazzling abstract forms, all pushed to bold extremes of scale, color and surface. Each artist, in her own distinctive way, stretches the physical limits of clay itself.
Among the highlights are generations of talent shining side by side, from pioneers such as Mishima Kimiyo, Tsuboi Asuka and Ogawa Machiko to younger voices like Konno Tomoko, Aoki Katsuyo and Tanaka Yu, whose glazed stoneware Bag Work (Fukuromono) from 2018 has become an emblem of the show. Working outside a traditionally male-dominated studio practice, these artists playfully reject gendered expectations, tackling so-called feminine and masculine subjects in wonderfully unconventional ways.
Organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and curated by Janice Katz, Radical Clay reveals an overlooked history of creative excellence right in the heart of the Dallas Arts District. Happy City News invites you to save the date and discover just how radical a humble lump of clay can be.
Photo: Dallas Museum of Art
