Founded by Nobuhito Nishigawara in 2010, W/R/F began its journey as a small business after gifting his wife, Lesley Kice Nishigawara, a set of handmade plates for Mothers Day.
Today, these plates are named the Standard Plate.
Standard Plate in Mist.
Nishigawara was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan before moving to Canada at the age of fifteen. His interest in ceramics began at Junior College in Canada where he met artist and professor, Sadashi Inuzuka. There, Nishigawara was trained as a potter but garnered an interest in ceramic art and installation work through observing Inuzuka’s own practice.
In pursuit of expanding his studies in sculptural ceramics, Nishigawara moved to the States where he received a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from Arizona State University. Nishigawara’s career has greatly focused on producing conceptual, ceramic artworks which have been widely exhibited across the United States. Now, Nishigawara is also the head of the ceramics program at California State University, Fullerton.
Exhibition of Nishigawara’s work.
West River Field (also known as) W/R/F’s namesake comes from the direct English translation of Nobuhito’s family name, 西川原 (Nishigawara). The same essence of Nishigawara’s art practice translates through to the W/R/F brand, integrating his Japanese roots into the narratives and designs he produces.
Nishigawara merges the traditional Japanese artistry of ceramics with his own minimal and clean aesthetic while embracing the philosophy of Mingei to produce quality, handmade functional goods that are accessible.