Joy Light Lecture: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics and the Way of Tea

For more than 1,000 years, vessels for the preparation and consumption of whisked, powdered tea have ranked among the world's most highly prized ceramics. With roots in China, these objects took on new meanings in Japan through chadō, the Way of Tea, shaped significantly by the Zen Buddhist idea that mundane actions can become paths toward self-cultivation. During this lecture, Dr. Meghen Jones will explore how—through materials, processes, and forms—Japan's leading ceramists carry forward the Way of Tea.
Meghen Jones is Professor of Art History at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where her research centers on Japanese and global ceramics histories, modernity, and cultural production. Recent publications include the edited and co-edited volumes Path of the Teabowl, Ceramics and Modernity in Japan, and the forthcoming A Global History of Japanese Ceramics. In 2024 she received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship.