David Kuraoka is an American ceramic artist. He was born in Lihue, Hawaii and received a BA from San José State University

San José State University

San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...

 (San Jose, California) in 1970 and an MA from the same institution in 1971. Kuraoka is a professor of art and head of the ceramics department of San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...

 and maintains studios in both San Francisco and Kauai, Hawaii

Kauai

Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...

. At the age of 35 he was named a Living Treasures of Hawai'i

Living Treasures of Hawai'i

The Living Treasures of Hawaii program was created by the Buddhist temple Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i to honor residents of Hawaii. The criteria for selection are, "First, the designee must demonstrate continuous growth in his or her field; second, the potential Living Treasure must have...

.

David Kuraoka is best known for large ceramic pieces that are first thrown on a wheel, then further shaped by hand, burnished, covered with rock salt and copper carbonate, and fired in an open pit. He also makes more traditionally shaped ceramics with grayish-green celadon

Celadon

Celadon is a term for ceramics denoting both a type of glaze and a ware of a specific color, also called celadon. This type of ware was invented in ancient China, such as in the Zhejiang province...

 glaze and has begun having some of his organically shaped ceramic pieces cast in bronze.

The College of San Mateo

College of San Mateo

College of San Mateo is a community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District....

 (San Mateo County, California), the Contemporary Museum, Honolulu

The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu

The now defunct Contemporary Museum, Honolulu was the only museum in the state of Hawaii devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The Contemporary Museum had two venues: in residential Honolulu at the historic Spalding House, and downtown Honolulu at First Hawaiian Center.-Collection:Artists...

, the Hawaii State Art Museum

Hawaii State Art Museum

The No. 1 Capitol District Building, on the site of the former Armed Services YMCA Building, now houses the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.-History:...

, the Rotterdam Modern Museum of Art, the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum

Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum

The is an art museum in Tokyo, Japan. It is located in Minato ward, and just east of Meguro Station. The museum is housed in an Art Deco building that was previously the residence of Prince Asaka Yasuhiko , the official residence of Prime Minister , and the State Guest House .Teien means Japanese...

, Utah State University

Utah State University

Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....

, and the White House Art Collection

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

(Washington, D. C.) are among the public collections holding work by David Kuraoka.

Footnotes