Kanda & Oliveira is pleased to present “刻層 / STRATA” , a solo exhibition by Marta Palmieri, from Wednesday, August 19 to Sunday, September 13.
This exhibition was conceived following an encounter with Marta Palmieri’s work in the summer of 2025 during the OPPES artist-in-residence program in Isumi, Chiba Prefecture. Spearheaded by artist Kazunori Hamana, OPPES serves as a platform for creation and circularity—breathing new life into abandoned homes and land—attracting creators from across the globe. The name OPPES originates from a southern Chiba dialect verb meaning "to push."
The residence is nestled in a rural landscape of swaying rice paddies, dotted with sacred shrine groves and faded vermilion torii gates that evoke scenes from a Studio Ghibli film. Simultaneously, the site bears the marks of contemporary rural Japan’s challenges: uncultivated farmland, solar panel installations, and neglected houses. OPPES is a project dedicated to restoring life and meaning to that which has been forgotten and discarded.
Residing there every summer since 2024, Palmieri immersed herself in the local rhythm—eating regional produce, walking through rice fields, exploring the sea, and conversing with local people and international visitors—weaving daily existence and artistic creation into a singular practice. Hand-sculpted from Shigaraki clay using traditional coil-building techniques, her vessels retain a rustic interior texture, while their carved exteriors display sharp edges imbued with sculptural tension. The motifs drawn with iron, brass, and porcelain clay are like a painting, and the metals dripping like glaze from each layer of the ceramic clay resemble water veins seeping out from geological strata formed over a long history. When tapped with a finger, the pieces ring like metal, possessing a quality akin to musical instruments. Whether reminiscent of planets, jagged cliff edges, or Noah’s ark, a deep contemplation of the relationship between humanity and nature shapes the forms of Palmieri’s work.
This exhibition also features Palmieri’s drawings. By leaving traces of impregnation on the surface of the paper, she accentuates the passage of time through color and matter. Created by applying oils onto the paper, saturating it with powders of granite, kaolin, and spices—removing, re-infusing them, and polishing the surface—these drawings form the very foundation of Palmieri’s sculptural inquiry.
Born in 1973 in Ancona on the Adriatic coast, Marta Palmieri graduated in Sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino in 1997, earning the Edgardo Mannucci Sculpture Prize as a prominent young talent. A member of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC), she currently lives and works in Ancona, though her career has long spanned international borders. A recurring participant in the International Ceramics Competition in Faenza, her work was acquired for the permanent collection of the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza in 2026. Her works are also held in the permanent collections of the Mark Rothko Art Centre in Latvia, as well as museums across China, Portugal, and Spain.
The artist will be present at the gallery on the 19th, 29th, and 30th during the exhibition period.
photo: Noboru Murata
In Cooperation with
Kazunori Hamana, Carlo Antonelli, Misato Oka and MOTHER DICTIONARY
