Kuremoto's sculptural forms evoke the enigmatic presence of Japan’s ancient talismanic figures—Haniwa, Dogu, Komainu—artifacts that, for centuries, stood as guardians against unseen forces.
My interpretation of ancient clay figurine Haniwa. (Haniwa are the traditional clay figures buried with the dead during the Kofun period of Japan, in the belief the Haniwa would protect souls in the after life.) My hope is that my Haniwa will protect our souls in this world.
For years I was afraid to become an artist. Afraid to voice my honest view of the world. Afraid to sacrifice the security and comfort of my day job. Afraid to admit it was killing my soul.
Afraid of confrontation. So I stayed agreeable - to avoid it, at all costs. I did it long enough that I could no longer hear my own voice - the voice that said what I really want to do is make art. I kept quiet, so no one would know I was failing at my true calling. It became my deep, dark secret. I was too scared to lose that end of the month pay check. I’d tell myself– You have a mortgage, a family. A legitimate excuse, socially accept-able. But my soul grew weaker and weaker, the more I didn’t demand the best from myself. I became my worst self. Who could kill my own soul. This is how I came to make my Haniwa. I would like to share them with you. Especially you who are ready to take on your maximum challenge. One you’ve longed for in your heart, longer than you care to admit. Let us stand up, our souls united, stronger for taking this important true step together.
All my strength to you.
I salute you.
Noe Kuremoto
A Contemporary Keeper of Ancient Wisdom
Noe Kuremoto’s work exists at the intersection of mythology, memory, and modernity. A ceramic artist of singular vision, she sculpts entirely by hand, using only the simplest of tools—an intuitive, almost ritualistic process that breathes life into clay. Her sculptural forms evoke the enigmatic presence of Japan’s ancient talismanic figures—Haniwa, Dogu, Komainu—artifacts that, for centuries, stood as guardians against unseen forces. Through her own reinterpretations, Kuremoto asks: What spirits do we need protection from today?
At the heart of her practice lies a deep engagement with the complexities of contemporary existence. Each project begins as an inquiry into the sources of modern discontent—alienation, disconnection, the erosion of meaning in a world increasingly dictated by logic and speed. Her sculptures, with their childlike purity and refined simplicity, offer a counterpoint: a return to something instinctual, something ancient, something we have forgotten but still long for.
Born in Osaka, Kuremoto moved to London in the 1990s to study conceptual art at Central Saint Martins, a departure that marked not only a shift in geography but a temporary severance from the weight of tradition. “In London, I didn’t have to bow. No more rituals, no more ghosts. Just forward, forward, forward. Science had the answers, right?” she reflects. “But facts aren’t wisdom. And wisdom is what keeps you standing when life cracks open.”
Over time—through love, marriage, motherhood, illness, loss, economic collapse, and war—she found herself returning to the myths she once dismissed. The spirits she had cast aside had never truly left; they had simply taken new forms. In a world that often outgrows its folklore, Kuremoto reclaims mythology not as nostalgia, not as superstition, but as an evolving, living language—one that still has urgent work to do.
Her ceramics are not merely objects; they are vessels of meaning, embodiments of survival wisdom passed down through centuries. “My responsibility isn’t to bury the past,” she explains, “but to bring what’s dead back to life. Not as dogma. Not as blind faith. But as something that moves, adapts, and shapes the world ahead. Because if we don’t carry the wisdom of the past, we don’t become free. We become lost.”
For Kuremoto, art is both an offering and an act of resistance—a refusal to let go of the symbols that once guided us. Her talismans, sculpted from the deep well of childhood memory, are meant to anchor us, to remind us of what endures beneath the noise of modern life. “I hope every piece I make helps my sons see the world as a beautiful place,” she says. “My work is my journey to strengthen my soul. And I would like to share that journey with you.”
Now based in London, Kuremoto lives with her family, including Lassie, the resident sausage dog. She is currently building a studio inLithuania’s Lake District, deep in the forest—a return, perhaps, to the very wilderness where she believes the universe reveals its truest self.
Her ceramics are dreams made tangible—fire, earth, and spirit, shaped into form. And in them, perhaps, lies a quiet invitation: to rediscover the wisdom we were told to forget, to let these old stories breathe again, and to seek, in their echoes, a way forward.
Education
London (UK)
Central Saint Martins college of Art
BA Graphic Design 2005-2008
Central Saint Martins college of Art
Conceptual Art
BA of Fine Art , First Class honours 2001-2005
Central Saint Martins College of Art
Art Foundation First Class honours 1999-2001
Born in Japan Osaka 1982
Works and Lives in London (UK) and Zarasai (Lithuania)
Exhibition 2025
Exhibition Berlin Art Week, Germany
CRAFTING COMMUNITY | The Foundry at Wilhelm Hallen| Curated by Anna Carnick
Exhibition NY USA
Shodo | Atelier Courbet | Curated by Melanie Courbet
Exhibition UK London
Secret Ceramics | Christie’s auction house London | Curated by Kate Malone MBE
Exhibition France
‘Bonsai Today’| La Galerie VOLUME | Curated by Remi Bracquemond
Exhibition Denmark
Maneki Neko ‘What are we
chasing?’ | Gallery Wolfsen | Curated by Kent Wolfsen
Solo show, Lithuania
‘Not For Sale’ | Antazave Museum | Curated by Gintautas and Lina Kazemekas
Art Vilnius, Lithuania
Heavenless Death | Curated by Ramutis Petniunas
Museo Della Ceramica, Italy
‘Mediterraneo’ Grottaglie | 32nd Contemporary Ceramic Art Exhibition
Exhibition 2024
Solo Exhibition Denmark
Haniwa warriors ‘Killing YourOwn Soul’ | Gallery Wolfsen | Curated by Kent Wolfsen
Group Exhibition USA
‘Nature Imagined’ | The Object Space | Curated by Jane Jackson
Exhibition USA NYC
‘Haniwa’ | Atelier Courbet NYC | Curated by Melanie Courbet
Exhibition France
‘Wide Eyes Open’| La Galerie VOLUME | Curated by Remi Bracquemond
Group Exhibition Denmark
Ulven+ | Gallery Wolfsen | Curated by Kent Wolfsen
Exhibition 2023
London UK
The Artisan Collab | 45 Park Lane gallery | Curated by Giovanna Ticciati
Paris France
La Galerie VOLUME | Curated by Remi Bracquemond
Lithuania
Public sculptural park | Commissioned by EU art council
Brussels Belgium
“What’s for dinner?” | OBJECTS WITH NARRATIVES gallery | Curated by Robbe Vandewyngaerde
Exhibition 2022
London
‘CLUSTER CONTEMPORARY’ curated by Ema Marinova
Brussels Belgium ‘Collective Fair’ curated by Volume Ceramic Paris
London United Kingdom
‘The Pavilions’ curated Gallery MAH
Stockholm Sweden
Stockholm Art Week : ‘Conversation’ curated Gallery The Ode To
Exhibition 2021
London United Kingdom
‘An Act of Making’ curated Gallery MAH
Milan Italy
Milan Design week 2021 ‘1000 vases’ curated by Francesco Pirello
London United Kingdom
Project 43 curated by Atelier LK
London United Kingdom
Where Things Land Down curated by Fels World
Paris France
‘The beauty of gesture, today’s Japanese creation’ curated bt Amelie Maison d’Art
Stockholm Sweden
Group female show curated Gallery The Ode To
Group Exhibition Denmark
JUL | Gallery Wolfsen | Curated by Kent Wolfsen
