[Ginza Tsutaya Bookstore] Ryu Jae-yoon’s solo exhibition “Non/Rite of Passage” will be held from June 27th (Saturday). Cultures and techniques from Japan, Italy, and Korea intersect, expressing a never-ending state of “movement” through ceramics and space.

Ginza Tsutaya Bookstore (GINZA SIX 6F, Chuo-ku, Tokyo) will host "Non/Rite of Passage," a solo exhibition by Ryu Jae-yoon, an artist from South Korea currently based in Kyoto, on its in-store art wall from June 27th (Sat) to July 24th (Fri), 2026.

Special Feature Page | https://store.tsite.jp/ginza/event/art/54840-1710180604.html

overview

Originally from South Korea and currently based in Kyoto, Ryu Jae-yoon is an artist who uses ceramics as a foundation, combining unique textures and colors with diverse materials such as oil paints and gold to express his own identity and narrative. He deals with themes such as hometown, travel, and the intersection of memories, and works on spatial expressions that move between reality and the past.
The title of this exhibition, "Non/Rite of Passage," refers to a state where the process of moving from one state to the next (a rite of passage) is not completed, but remains in an intermediate "neither-nor-neither place (boundary)." It is an attempt by the artist to express the sense of endlessly continuing "movement" that he himself has experienced, using ceramics as a material.
In this exhibition, diverse cultural elements are incorporated into the works, including "clay and glaze" that the artist has continued to use in Japan, the "form of the amphora," an ancient transport vessel encountered in Italy, and "traditional techniques" such as peeling and openwork carving acquired in Korea. These elements are not organized into a single style, but rather create relationships while remaining somewhat disconnected.
The exhibition space is arranged so that a variety of two-dimensional works and vase-shaped three-dimensional works based on black and white colors face each other. Through installations that incorporate motifs such as birds, eggs, and lighthouses, the exhibition creates a sense of multi-layered interplay of meaning between two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms.

Artist Statement

I was born on an island in South Korea and currently create my work based in Japan. For me, this "movement" is not a one-off event, but a condition that continues to exist in the present moment. This work is constructed on the premise of a "relational state" that is formed between different places. (omitted)
This refers to a state where a path is open, but the movement is not completed, and the ritualistic form persists without being effectively functioning. In this state, existence does not belong to a specific place, but remains perpetually at the boundary.
This work is an attempt to translate this structure into material form. (omitted)
After firing, the clay and glaze emerge as a single form, but this is not a convergence into a single state; rather, it is established as a "structure" composed of multiple overlapping layers. This work does not reproduce a specific place. Rather than presupposing a completed destination or a fixed identity, my expression is constructed on the basis of "conditions of transition" that persist between different places and times. — Ryu Jae-yoon

*The full statement can be viewed on the following special feature page.
Special Feature Page | https://store.tsite.jp/ginza/event/art/54840-1710180604.html

Artist Profile

Ryu Jae-yoon (RYU JEYOON / 류제윤)

Born in South Korea in 1990.
Graduated from Korea Ceramics High School in 2009.
Completed exchange student program at the Wrocław Academy of Fine Arts, Poland in 2013.
Graduated from Kyung Hee University, Department of Ceramics, with a Bachelor's degree in 2015 (South Korea).
Completed a Master's program in Ceramics at the Kyoto City University of Arts Graduate School of Fine Arts in 2021. Currently based in Kyoto, and active in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, and other countries.

■Major solo exhibitions
2025 "Seagulls Traveling Between Two Islands" / Kyoto Tsutaya Bookstore (in cooperation with YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY), Kyoto
"Birds Encountered at the Edge of Life" 2025 / gallery NEUTRAL, Kyoto
2025 “Tue Shadow Mountain View” / LUTRA GALLERY, TSUTAYA, Shanghai, China
"LIFE MONSTER" 2024 / Marco Gallery, Osaka
2024 "Mountains Move" / gallery Main, Kyoto
2023 "Swamp Dream, Swamp Room" / studio J, Osaka
"Heroes Who Live On" 2023 / Gallery KKI, Seoul
"Letters to My Homeland," 2022 / Gallery SEIN, Seoul

Regarding sales

The exhibited artworks will be available for purchase starting at 10:30 AM on Saturday, June 27th.
Depending on the pre-sale situation, sales may end before the start of the event.

Exhibition details

Ryu Jae-yoon, "Non-Rite of Passage"
Exhibition Period | June 27th (Sat) – July 24th (Fri), 2026 *Closing at 18:00 on the final day Venue | Ginza Tsutaya Bookstore Art Wall (GINZA SIX 6F)
Organized by: Ginza Tsutaya Bookstore; Supported by: YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY
Admission | Free Inquiries | info.ginza@ccc.co.jp
Special Feature Page | https://store.tsite.jp/ginza/event/art/54840-1710180604.html