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Sadamasa Imai creates elegant ceramics sculptures and pottery reflecting a unique blend of traditional and contemporary influences. His creations are the product of the slow and laborious process of ceramic making with each piece reflecting many hours of intense planning and execution. As a result, each of his creations evidences a total commitment to craftsmanship and detail.

Imai’s creations focus on the beauty and wonder of life forms. Drawn by their delicate beauty and ruggedness, Imai often incorporates crabs and other sea dwellers into his recent work. When closely examined, subtle paradoxes in Imai’s themes and style become apparent. Imai may choose strong colors at odds with the rest of the piece, but they serve to accentuate rather than to overwhelm. There is also a clear dichotomy of the detailed and realistic, and the minimal and abstract. The shapes he uses in his sculptures function as pedestals, minimalist sculptures, and environments created for the creatures that inhabit them. By presenting them together, both elements of the sculpture appear to coexist, and they create an entirely new entity. The effect is innovative and modern, yet their medium is firmly traditional.

Imai is from Kyoto, Japan. He graduated from the graduate school of the Department of Crafts of Tokyo University of the Arts in 2015 and is currently creating his artworks in Kyoto.

Since 2015, he has held solo exhibitions every year and participated in many group exhibitions. The "Kyoto People x Next Generation Artists 2024," "Three Generations of the Imai Family in Kyoto," "mermaid," etc. The "Kanma Imai Ceramics: Real Fantasy" exhibition held in December 2023 attracted visitors of all ages, and some days the exhibition never ceased to draw visitors. Imai's creations have received numerous other awards and have certainly attracted a great deal of attention in Japan.