Matsuda studied ceramics at Kyoto City University of Arts under Tomimoto Kenkichi in the 1960s, and went on to study the techniques of underglaze blue and white painting and overglaze enamel and gilding. She works exclusively in porcelain, creating hand-built sculptures of recognisable objects, decorated in traditional styles of Imari and Kutani-style enamels. There is a playful, humorous quality to her works found in the interplay between the intricately patterned surfaces with unexpected sculptural forms. These forms have evolved over the years as she turns her attention to different themes; ranging from body parts and fruit and vegetables, to tea bowls and tableware, as well as a series of landscapes of Mount Fuji. The interplay of humourous shapes with traditional decoration is both satirical and irreverent but also deeply rooted in tradition, as she has stated ‘I am following a long tradition in Japanese art, called mitate, of playfully representing something with something else.’ Matsuda’s works are widely exhibited in Japan and internationally, and she is considered a pioneer amongst female ceramic artists in Japan.
Artwork