Lucie Rie Retrospective Opens in Tokyo
Lucie Rie, Blue Glazed Bowl, c. 1980
Inai Collection (on deposit at The National Crafts Museum) Photo: Rui Shinano
Elegant vessels born at the wheel, fired with glazes that glow like molten earth, displayed inside one of Tokyo’s finest Art Deco mansions—this is the world of Lucie Rie. “Lucie Rie—Graceful Vessels Bridging East and West” runs at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum in Shirokanedai from July 4 to September 13, 2026. The first retrospective of the twentieth-century master to be held in Japan in roughly a decade, it brings together precious works from collections across the country.
By AAJ Editorial TeamA Potter Who Crossed Two Worlds
Lucie Rie (1902–1995) was born in Vienna, Austria, where she discovered the potter’s wheel at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts and never looked back. She had already established herself as a rising talent when war forced her to flee in 1938, relocating her studio to London.
Lucie Rie, Lava Glazed Bowl, c. 1980
Inai Collection (on deposit at The National Crafts Museum) Photo: Rui Shinano
Her work is defined by three things: forms of extraordinary grace thrown on the wheel; intricate surface patterns made through inlay (zougan) and sgraffito techniques; and richly varied glazes that seem to hold light within them. That combination of delicacy and quiet authority has drawn admirers across borders and generations—and continues to do so today.
The Artists Who Shaped Her Eye
Japan’s most significant collections of Rie’s work come together for this exhibition. One of its major highlights is the inclusion of works by artists who were close to her.
They include Josef Hoffmann, whom she met in Vienna; and Bernard Leach, Hans Coper, and Hamada Shoji, all encountered during her London years—a remarkable constellation of names from both East and West.
Tracing Rie’s journey from her earliest work to full maturity, the exhibition also reexamines her relationship with East Asian ceramics—particularly those of Japan—through the lens of the places, people, and historical moments she encountered along the way.
Lucie Rie, Pink Inlaid Bowl, c. 1975–79
The National Crafts Museum Collection Photo: Arrow Artworks
Lucie Rie, Buttons(detail), 1940s–50s
Paramita Museum, Okada Cultural Foundation Collection
Where Art Deco Meets the Potter's Wheel
The main building of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum was completed in 1933 as the private residence of Prince Asaka—a landmark of Art Deco architecture unlike any white-cube gallery. Its mansion rooms draw out qualities in ceramics that a neutral exhibition space never could. To see Lucie Rie’s delicate and graceful forms in quiet dialogue with the architectural design of this historic house is one of the rare pleasures this exhibition alone can offer.
Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Main Building, Front Exterior
DATA
“Lucie Rie—Graceful Vessels Bridging East and West”
Dates: July 4 (Sat) – September 13 (Sun), 2026
Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum (5-21-9 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (last admission 30 min before closing)
※Extended hours until 21:00 on Fridays: August 7, 14, 21, and 28
Closed: Every Monday ※Open July 20 (Mon); closed July 21 (Tue)
Admission: General ¥1,400 / University students ¥1,120 / High school students & aged 65+ ¥700 (tax incl.) ※Free for junior high school students and under
※Advance timed-entry reservation required
※Reduced visitor capacity on Flat Days: Wednesday, July 29 and Wednesday, August 5
URL: https://www.teien-art-museum.ne.jp/exhibition/lucie-rie/
