EKWC

Founded in 1969 in s’-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands,  the European Ceramic Work Center provides artist residencies, lectures, and workshops. The center, known as EKWC in its Dutch abbreviation, frequently collaborates with international art academies, galleries, museums, and scientific institutions. Its mission is to encourage experimentation, technical development, and creative dynamism for both young and experienced artists, who work side-by-side among the sixteen studios at the EKWC facility. 

Jun Kaneko’s relationship with the EKWC dates to 1991, when he was first introduced to artistic director Xavier Toubes. He gave a lecture at the institution in 1993, and in 1995 embarked on an artist residency at the renowned ceramics studio. The low-fired, fully oxidized kilns and earthenware clay in s’-Hertogenbosch required Kaneko to expand his technical knowledge and experiment with unfamiliar materials, including newly patented German pigments. The color palette was therefore completely new, as low-fired temperatures produce the brightest of all ceramic colors.

Kaneko embraced the challenge of these new materials and glazes, making hundreds of tiles for glaze application tests. During his time at the EKWC, he produced several tile walls, Ovals, dozens of wall Slabs and Constructions, a number of seven-foot-tall Dangos, and two large Heads. His second residency there, in 2001, was equally prolific, with the fabrication of one hundred wall Slabs. Reflecting on his work in the Netherlands, Kaneko writes, “It is my basic interest and concern to maintain a high level of creative energy to make objects. I often think it may be about maintaining a level of curiosity about what I am doing that parallels to having a high level of creative energy. I do things that I am curious about. This creates new ideas and this brings more questions and more curiosity to the original idea. This is how creative energy expands rapidly.”