A visual book introducing Rut Bryk, a little-known ceramic artist representing Finland, has been released, and to celebrate the publication, an exhibition titled "Nice to Meet You, Rut Bryk" will be held at Books and Modern + Blue Sheep Gallery in Nogizaka from December 21st to January 19th, 2019.


Rut Bryk was a member of the art department of Arabia Porcelain Factory from 1942. Over the course of approximately 50 years, she produced a wide variety of works, from adorable ceramic panels to large-scale murals for public buildings. Ahead of the start of her first large-scale exhibition in Japan, which will be held at Tokyo Station Gallery in April next year, "Nice to Meet You, Rut Bryk" (Blue Sheep Publishing) is a visual book filled with photographs of Bryk's representative works and the Finnish Lapland region.

The book is divided into nine chapters that explore Bryk's essence, including butterflies, birds, dreams, color, form, and space. The book weaves together the multi-layered and rich appeal of this little-known artist through the words of Japan's leading creators, inviting readers into a world of beautiful color and poetry. This book offers a glimpse into Finland that is a little different from the colorful and cute world of Moomin and Marimekko.


This book invites you into a world of beautiful colors and poetic sentiment using the words of leading Japanese creators, such as minä perhonen designer Akira Minagawa, who says of Brück, "If I had to compare it to something, it would be someone who turned poetry into architecture into painting," and dye artist Fukumi Shimura, who says, "Her colors express an unparalleled dignity."

The book's publication commemorative exhibition, "Nice to Meet You, Rut Brück," will be held at Books and Modern + Blue Sheep Gallery in Nogizaka, Tokyo from December 21 to January 19, 2019, and will feature Brück's works and Lapland landscape photographs taken in Finland by art director and photographer Kei Maeda. Four of Bryk's ceramic works will also be on special display.
Postcards, posters, stationery, and other Rut Bryk-related products will also be on sale.
The traveling exhibition "Rut Bryk: Trail of the Butterfly" will be held from April 2019. This will be the first exhibition in Japan to introduce Bryk's cross-border work, spanning art, design, and space. Through approximately 180 of her representative works, the exhibition will explore the transnational creativity and pure craftsmanship of this master, who is still relatively unknown in Japan.
The exhibition is scheduled to run at five venues nationwide, including Tokyo Station Gallery from April 27 to June 16, 2019; Itami City Museum of Art and Itami Municipal Crafts Center from September 7 to October 20, 2019; and the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu from April 25 to July 5, 2020.