Hirai says, "When you live abroad, you inevitably become more conscious of Japan."

Conversely, this might mean that he is "more conscious of Italy than Italians themselves."

Hirai says, "I like the soft and warm texture of the Majolica clay."

The richly colored majolica ceramics created by Hirai are imbued with the sunlight and clear air that pours down on the Mediterranean Sea.

Most of these pieces have a reddish-brown base coated with white clay, on which patterns are incised, and then painted with vibrant pigments such as red, blue, yellow, and green.

The red color, especially the selenium red, is very striking.

It is something that can only be expressed through the clay and pigments of Majolica.

Many of the motifs that Hirai depicts are learned from old majolica pottery, but the wave, heart, and floral patterns seen on the small plates exhibited this time are reinterpretations of Hirai's sensibilities for the modern age, and it is in this that the uniqueness of Hirai's majolica pottery can be seen.

Furthermore, it combines unglazed sections that leave the bisque firing as is with sections that have been coated with white clay.<白シリーズ><彩シリーズ>This could be considered a sculptural work unique to Hirai.

Kouichi Mori (Art critic, Standing Director of the Japan Ceramic Society)