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      • Dinner Bell
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      • Hans Grohs and the Dance of Death
      • Lynn Saville
      • Nature, Tradition and Innovation: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Gordon Brodfueher Collection
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PRESENT EXHIBITIONS

Nature, Tradition & Innovation:
Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Gordon Brodfueher Collection

January 28 through April 23, 2017

​
Picture
​Ceramics in Japanese Culture

In the West, ceramics have been considered a minor, “decorative” art form, eclipsed for centuries by the “fine”  arts of  painting and sculpture, and even in China, where porcelain has been collected by Emperors for centuries, stoneware vessels had little cultural or financial value. However, stoneware ceramics occupy a uniquely esteemed position in Japan, where rulers, tea masters, and connoisseurs have long treasured rustic-looking tea bowls, tea caddies, and flower vases, with their naturally occurring glazes and imperfect forms. As early as the 16th  century, these simple pots and bowls baffled visiting Portuguese Jesuit missionaries, who remarked that they were “prized beyond belief” and described them as “the jewels of Japan.”
 
This  admiration for rugged-looking stonewares derives in  part from the Japanese deep-rooted love of nature and reverence for the kami or higher beings that inhabit it. For centuries, Japan’s potters have used the natural elements of earth, water and fire to create vessels that evoke nature, such as the moss coating a stone statue of a Buddha, the stain on an ancient rock, or the bark of a majestic cryptomeria tree. Many of  their forms and glazed finishes harmonize with these natural tones and textures, effects that are credited to the kami themselves during the firing of  the kiln.  These tones and textures resonated well  with Zen Buddhist ideals of  austerity,  simplicity and humility, particularly within the context of  the tea ceremony from the 15th  cen- tury onwards. The concept of wabi, an aesthetic of cultivated rusticity, also affected the taste for the simple, rugged and imperfect.



Nature in Japanese Ceramics
 
For centuries, the Japanese have lived close to nature, both physically and spiritually. About 70% of the Japanese archipelago is mountainous, it is lush with greenery and volcanic activity is regular, so its  people are sensitive to nature and its  movements. According to the native belief system, Shinto (the “Way of the Kami”), higher beings called kami reside in ancient trees, strange-looking rocks or majestic mountains. To guarantee peace and abundant harvests, the Japanese honor these kami and their natural environments; failure to do so may cause earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, fires, and ruined crops. Since their work depends intimately on the five elements of nature – wood, fire, water, earth, and air, Japan’s potters have long respected nature and its  power, making offerings to the kami of the kiln before every firing and often crediting outstanding glaze effects to the will of the kami rather than skill.
 
Flowers, plants and trees of  the four seasons feature prominently in Japan’s litera- ture and art, and ceramic vessels have long been adorned with cherry blossoms, rep- resenting spring and the transience of  life, or pine trees symbolizing winter and re- silience. Even ceramic forms can vary with the season. Tea bowls with thick, vertical walls are more appropriate for winter since they keep the tea warm, while shallow, al- most flat tea bowls let the tea cool quickly in the summer. As this exhibition demonstrates, potters often pay homage to the power and beauty of  nature by creating vessels with glazes reminiscent of tree bark, bamboo stalks, or dramatically crashing waves. Taijiro Ito’s photographs included in this exhibition demonstrate  beautifully the connection between their ceramics and nature.


Tradition in Japanese Ceramics
 
As  with many of Japan’s arts, the realm of ceramics is bound strongly by tradition. Cer- tain regions of Japan have plentiful supplies of clay, water and trees suitable for the pro- duction of  stoneware ceramics, and centuries ago, communities of  potters established kilns  in these areas and produced utilitarian storage jars, food dishes and sake bottles, and from the 16th  century onwards, tea bowls, caddies, water jars and other tea cere- mony wares. Each kiln evolved specific styles. Shigaraki, near Kyoto is known for rough utilitarian wares textured by feldspar specks in the glaze, while Bizen wares from Okaya- ma have smooth, unglazed surfaces often exquisitely patterned by burn marks from the firing. From Mino  near Nagoya, Shino wares with their thick, creamy glazes and the play- ful Oribe wares with a copper green glaze paired with underglazed iron painted designs were born from tea culture and their popularity spread far beyond.
 
The potters of  these communities handed down their skills  and secrets to their eldest sons, and generation after generation have continued to produce wares of the same style, rarely changing the style or forms produced or signing their works. Some of  the artists in this exhibition are from lineages that go back over 10 generations, or 300 years. In the early 20th century, Japan’s Mingei, or Folk Art  movement hailed the contribution of the nation’s unknown potters, and today,  even though many artists working at these kilns produce traditional wares, they are increasingly signing their work and receiving recog- nition as individual artists.


Innovation in Japanese Ceramics
 
From the late 19th  century, when Japan opened its ports to world trade, Japanese artists in all media began to feel the influence of  Western art. In ceramics, changes happened relatively slowly. During the Folk Art  movement of  the early 20th century, foreign pot- ters, most notably Bernard Leach (1887-1979), worked at Japanese kilns  and introduced innovations, like handles on teacups, to local potters. From around the mid-20th century, some Japanese potters started to travel overseas to study ceramic techniques in Europe and the United States, while others learned their craft at art school rather than as part of a family tradition. Kazhuiko Miwa,  an 11th generation Hagi potter learned traditional Hagi pottery from his  father, Living National Treasure, Kyusetsu Miwa,  but also studied at the San Francisco Art  Institute from 1975-1981 and was strongly influenced by American ce- ramic artist Peter Voulkos (1924-2002).
 
Many of the objects in this exhibition are somewhat traditional in form and style but there are a number of  pieces that are strikingly contemporary.  Geometric forms with sharp edges and lines characterize Yohei Konishi’s Spiral Tokoname-ware Tsubo vase and Keii- chi  Shimizu’s slab-built Tamba-ware  Vases and Footed Tray. Both artists have blended traditional clay and glazes to  createfunctional vessels with very contemporary forms. Hosei Udagawa departed even further. He continued to use the clay and glaze of his  native Hagi, but created in works such as his piece Tenzan, or Heavenly Mountain in this ex- hibition, he crossed into the realm of pure sculpture.


Ceramics in Japanese Tea Ceramony
 
Powdered green tea, or matcha, first arrived in Japan in the late 12th century when Japa- nese monks, who studied meditational Buddhism (Japanese: Zen) in China, brought both Zen and tea drinking as a meditational aid  back to Japan. Tea drinking soon spread into the residences of samurai warlords who embraced Zen Buddhism, Chinese painting, and all things Chinese. In the 14th  century, military leaders appointed connoisseurs to cata- logue their Chinese artifacts and display them while entertaining guests with tea – in an early form of  the tea ceremony, or chanoyu. Later, several tea masters including Sen no Rikyu (1521-1591) developed the practice further in to a spiritual pursuit, emphasizing the appreciation of nature, the aesthetics of simplicity, humility and austerity and the use of native ceramics. Their philosophy profoundly influenced both the world of tea and of ce- ramics in Japan.
 
Many ceramic objects are used in the tea ceremony, from the flower vases, or hana-ire, placed in the tokonoma alcove to the tiny tea caddy, or cha-ire, that contains the pow- dered tea and the lidded water jar, or mizusashi, that holds the fresh water. Most import- ant of all is the tea bowl, or chawan, in which the host whisks up and serves the tea and from which the guest receives it. Each of  these vessels is created by the potter with a particular aesthetic sensibility in mind and is selected by the host with the intention of creating a tea ceremony that is perfectly suited to the occasion, season, mood, and guest.


Sake in Japanese Ceramics

Sake,  an alcoholic drink made from rice,  is considered by many to be Japan’s national drink. It has been drunk in Japan for over 2,000 years and has played a significant role in many of the country’s religious and secular customs. Since the beginning of its history, the wine has been associated with Japan’s indigenous gods, and has been drunk at ceremonies and festivals as a means of bringing people closer to the gods. It has also been consumed at weddings, reunions, cherry blossom viewing parties, and other festive social  occasions in order to bring people closer to each other.
 
Sake can be served chilled, heated or at room temperature, depending on the drinker, the quality of the brew and the season. Over the centuries, a rich assortment of sake vessels (Japanese: shuki) have been crafted out of  clay, wood, lacquer, and metal for the pur- pose of storing, heating, serving and drinking sake. The drink is traditionally served from a flask called tokkuri, usually a bulbous form with a narrow neck, and poured into small cups called guinomi or choko. The reason for the petite size is twofold: first, smaller cups compel the drinker to sip  the sake slowly and savor the taste; second, as it is customary to serve sake to one another, smaller sizes allow people to pour sake several times for each other throughout an event. Sake can also be sipped from saucer-like cups called sakazuki, often used at weddings, or box forms called masu, originally used for measuring  rice and often used at restaurants.



CERAMIC OBJECT LABELS


Naomi Yokohama (b.1970)
Nerikomi Vase, 2009
Unglazed stoneware
Bizen ware
 
Yokoyama lives in the hills of Bizen, where his father was also a potter.  He  started studying pottery at the Bizen ceramic center in 1992  and was selected to exhibit his  work at many regional art and craft expositions, before founding his  own kiln  in 2000. A relatively young potter, Yokoyama is gaining increasing attention.  He   works  in  forms that  range  from strong to organic and in  tones of  soft orange and brown, reminiscent of autumn leaves. This  particular vase was made using nerikomi, a ceramic marbling technique in which strips of clay in varying colors or stains are carefully stacked, folded and arranged. When fired, the layers of  clay merge together and appear as blended lines, creating a marbled effect.


Yukiya Izumita (b.1966)
Sekakai Vase, 2010
Unglazed stoneware
 
Yukiya Izumata  grew  up  in   Iwate prefecture  in   northern Japan. After college, he worked for three years in Tokyo, but in 1992  he returned to rural Japan to learn pottery. In 1995,  he established his own kiln in Noda-mura in Iwate Prefecture, and immediately began winning prestigious awards for his  work. Izumita feels a strong connection to nature, especially to the muted colors and roughness of  earth in  his   surroundings. Using clay from his area, and blending in sand and stones, he creates unique clay from which he forms almost paper-thin, angular forms that evoke the passage of  time,  erosion, and decay.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Sakurei Okamoto (b. 1958)
Ancient Tree Platter, 2010
Glazed stoneware with  iron-painted underglaze
Karatsu ware
 
Sakurei Okamoto is one of  the foremost Karatsu potters working today and prides himself on his traditional approach to his  work. The Karatsu  kilns   in  Kyushu were  established by Korean  potters in  the late 16th  century,  and since then, they have produced both utilitarian and tea ceremony wares. Okamoto works with the  glossy black and  creamy white glazes characteristic of  this tradition, but he truly excels at dishes and other vessels decorated with abstracted natural motifs rendered in iron-brown pigment under a transparent glaze.  This  large platter features a twisting trunk of  a pine tree,  abbreviated and animated so that it  appears to dance over the entire surface of the dish.

Ken Matsuzaki (b. 1950)
Vase, 2011
Glazed Stoneware
Oribe ware
 
Born in  Tokyo, Ken Matsuzaki  grew up surrounded by art and culture,  and at the age of  16 he developed an interest in  ceramics. In  1972,  after graduating from Tamagawa University’s College of  Arts, he apprenticed  with (National Living Treasure) Tatsuzo Shimaoka (1919-2007) in the Mashiko folk  pottery center revitalized by Shoji Hamada (1894-1978), in the early 20th century in Tochigi, north of Tokyo. During his apprenticeship,  he eventually evolved his  own style,  motifs, and palette of  glazes. His  work incorporates elements from many of  Japan’s major ceramic centers. The flat-sided form of  this slab-built flower vase is  reminiscent of  the work of Hamada and Shimaoka, and features the bold copper green glaze that characterizes the Oribe wares from the Mino  kilns near Nagoya.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Mitsunori Tokuzawa (b. 1957)
Sea Spray Breaking on  Rocks, 2011
Glazed stoneware
Karatsu ware
 
Karatsu  wares have been made at the kilns   of  Karatsu  in northern  Kyushu for  over  400  years now.  The wares  are typically decorated  with iron-brown designs painted under a transparent glaze,  such as the pine tree design of  Sakurei Okamoto’s Ancient Tree Platter also featured in this exhibition. However, a more dramatic type is Chosen-garatsu, or “Korean Karatsu,” in which a glossy black glaze is slightly overlapped with a white glaze to create a bold contrasting effect. Mitsunori Tokuzawa specializes in this particular style of  Karatsu ware, and in this piece, he has manipulated the contrasting glazes to masterfully replicate the effect of  waves crashing onto a rocky shore.

Atarashi Kanji (b. 1944)
Iga Vase, 2009
Glazed stoneware
Iga  ware
 
Atarashi Kanji was born in Osaka in 1944, and graduated from the Osaka College of Craft Design. His contemporary take on the rugged, often powerful forms of  Iga  ware is apparent  in this unusual, three-sided vase, which can be displayed either standing or lying on its  back.   The shell shapes that were impressed into the glaze to provide support in the kiln during firing have been incorporated into its  decorative scheme.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Yoshitaka Hasu (b. 1949)
Half Moon Plates, 2012
Glazed stoneware
Iga  ware
 
Iga ware is produced in Iga in Mie prefecture near Kyoto, where supplies of a high-firing clay has made it a ceramic center for centuries. It is known for rugged, rustic-looking wares coated with a glassy feldspathic glaze.  Since the late 16th  century, Iga  wares have been greatly admired for their crooked, even purposefully deformed shapes. These imperfect qualities resonated  with the wabi (cultivated poverty and rusticity) and sabi (beauty  of  age) aesthetics promoted by the tea master Sen no Rikyu and admired by many practitioners  of tea.  Originally from Nagasaki, Yoshitaka  Hasu apprenticed with Iga  potters in the 1970s before establishing his  own kiln in  Iga  and creating both utilitarian and sculptural ceramics. His set of half-moon dishes was made to hold small portions of food in the kaiseki meal, which is traditionally served before the tea ceremony.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Yasuhiro Kohara (b. 1954)
Handled Basket, 2006
Glazed stoneware
Shigaraki ware
 
Self-taught   with  no  formal  ceramic  schooling,  Yasuhiro Kohara works in a variety of styles and forms and has gained considerable international acclaim. His free and intuitive style is evident in his dynamic manipulation of clay. Kohara is known for extraordinary washes of green glaze, evocative of the lush green mountainous expanse of  Shiga prefecture.  Based  in Shigaraki, in  Shiga prefecture,  he uses the local clay,  which is textured by specks of  feldspar that burst onto the vessel surface during firing. Many of his  works are characterized by a “dragonfly  eye” jewel-like effect created  when the natural ash glazes collect and pool together,  as can be seen in  the interior of this basket.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Satoru Hoshino (b. 1945)
First Snow of Spring Vase, 2009
Hand-formed, glazed stoneware
 
Satoru Hoshino creates his  pieces by coiling clay into large tubes and using his  fingers to morph the clay,  a common practice before the invention of  the potter’s wheel. Through this process, Hoshino engages  in  a dialogue with the clay while also paying homage to the humble origins of ceramics, focusing on the transformation of  the medium. Many of  his forms resemble tornadoes or falling rock formations, as glazes flow freely along the soft ripples, emphasizing the essence of clay itself. The hand is a visible and prominent element in his works, and when he uses glazes, he allows them to pool and drip rhythmically on the interior and exterior of the works.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Kaku Hayashi (b. 1953)
Kegon Falls Vase, 2011
Stoneware
 
The Eastern philosophy of Zen Buddhism has provided wide- ranging  inspiration  for  Kaku Hayashi’s ceramic  work. She exploits the malleability of clay to express her ideas through a dynamic series of folds, combined with undulations derived from calligraphy brushwork. Her series of works entitled Kegon Falls  was inspired by the beautiful waterfall Kegon no  Taki in Tochigi prefecture, close to her own home. This  masterful work brilliantly evokes  in  pottery the dramatic cascade of water down a slick  rock wall.  Her  unique sculptural approach, deeply influenced by  Japan’s nature  and  spirituality has ensured her a high position in Japan’s ceramic art world.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Yohei Konishi (b. 1941)
Large Vase, ca.  1990
Glazed Stoneware
Tokoname ware
 
Tokoname is one of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns, or Rokkoyo, and has been a ceramics center for almost 1,000 years, producing utilitarian stonewares and later tea wares with a brownish body and natural ash glazes. Now Tokoname is perhaps best known as the major producer of  teapots for steeped green leaf  tea, or sencha,  in Japan.   Yohei Konishi learned  pottery from his  father, and although he feels most comfortable building teapots, he has created many pieces that are more works of art than utilitarian vessels. The spiral vase here is an example of  his  departure from tradition, as he has taken the ancient tsubo (storage jar  form), twisted, and carved it until it is a highly poetic work of sculpture.

Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Ichiro Kimura (1915-1978)
Snow Melting in Spring Stream Plate,  1965
Glazed Stoneware
Shino ware
 
The Shino kilns  located close to Nagoya were established in the 16th  century to produce tea ceramics. Influenced by the white-glazed tea bowls made by the Korean potters who first worked at the kilns,  these wares have long been celebrated for their thick, white glazes that  often have a slightly pink hue or an intense crackle.  Ichiro Kimura was a renowned Mashiko potter who studied with Shojii  Hamada in the 1930s, established his own kiln in 1947, and was given a retrospective there in  1998.  He  worked in  many different styles, and here we see a poetic application of the Shino glaze onto a square food dish.

Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Hideki Goto (b. 1963)
Shell Vase, 2011
Glazed stoneware
Shino ware
 
Hideki Goto was born in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu and graduated   from the  Tajimi Technical High   School  before beginning work as a ceramic artist in  the Mino  area near Nagoya. He is best known for his abstracted shell-form vessels coated with a thick, creamy Shino glaze.  In these sculptural and highly organic modern works, the pinkish-orange tone from the iron in  the clay appears to seep through bubbles and cracks in  the glaze,  as is  characteristic of  traditional Shino wares.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Shiro Tsujimura (b. 1947)
Tall Sculptural Vase, 2004
Stoneware
Iga  ware
 
As  a youth, Shiro Tsujimura aspired to be a painter and later entered  a  monastery  where  he  received  formal training. While visiting a museum one day, Tsujimura saw a Korean tea bowl and was captivated; he suddenly felt all the beauty and sadness of  humanity,  and at age 22,  decided to become a potter. Infused with the philosophy of Zen, Tsujimura formed a natural connection with clay. He found a remote plot of land in Nara, the ancient capital of  Japan, and began building his compound by hand. Instead of  building one large kiln  that could only be fired once a year, he built several small kilns that could be fired every week. Completely self-taught, Tsujimura is renowned for his tea bowls and sculptural forms with rustic simplicity. His Iga-style vertical vase captures the irregularity and imperfection so admired in Iga  ware.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Kazuhiko Miwa (b. 1951)
Vase, 2009
Glazed stoneware
Hagi ware
 
Born into one of  the most celebrated  ceramics families in Hagi, Kazuhiko  Miwa is  the son of  Living National Treasure Kyusetsu  Miwa,  an eleventh generation master potter.  Miwa studied at the San Francisco Art  Institute from 1975-1981  and was greatly influenced by Peter Voulkos. Hagi ware evolved in  Yamaguchi  prefecture in  the late 16th  century under the influence of  Korean  potters brought to Japan, and is noted for its  rough surfaces, chunky forms and snow-white glaze. Known as Miwa white, this prominent Hagi glaze encrusts the surface of the form, creating a rich  and luxurious texture.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Hosei Udagawa (1946-1993)
Heavenly Mountain, 2010
Glazed stoneware
Hagi ware
 
Hosei Udagawa studied  with his  brother Seikoku Udagawa, and established his   own kiln  in  1982;   he was considered among the leading Hagi ceramists before his  untimely death in 1993.  Observing nature and how it changes in the course of  the seasons of  the year plays a central role in  Japanese aesthetics. Layered with several layers of  thick glaze, this striking sculptural mountain is reminiscent of a snow-covered mountain.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Joji Yamashita (b. 1947)
Jar, 2010
Unglazed stoneware
Bizen ware
 
Joji  Yamashita is a member of Nihon Kogei Kai, the Traditional Craft Association of  Japan, and has won numerous awards for his  technical excellence and artistry both in  Japan and internationally. Bizen ware ceramics from Okayama prefecture are  renowned  for  their  smooth,  unglazed  surfaces  that feature organic patterning created during the firing process. Yamashita’s large vase is decorated with a traditional Bizen technique called hidasuki, in which straw is wrapped around a pot prior to firing. The straw burns off  in  the kiln  during the high-temperature  firing, leaving only abstract  red cord markings.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Keiichi Shimizu (b. 1962)
Large Vase, 2012
Stoneware
Tanba ware
 
Keiichi Shimizu, a fourth generation potter,  followed in  the footsteps of   his   father,   a highly respected  potter  in  the Tanba tradition, one of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns, or Rokkoyo. Shimizu’s original designs are built from slab-built surfaces rather than wheel-thrown forms. He  is  especially interested in the three-dimensional interplay of  lines and surfaces and uses clay of  contrasting colors and textures to accentuate the intersecting planes. His  works show a strong minimalist influence, with clean lines and taut surfaces.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Atsushi Takagaki  (b. 1946)
​Scarlet-tinged Celadon Blinding Light No.1, 2009
Celadon glaze on stoneware
 
The grayish-green celadon glaze was invented in China over 1000 years ago, and due to its  unpredictable nature, it is one of the most difficult glazes to master. The luminous green tone derives from tiny quantities of iron oxide that fire pale green in a reduction firing (a kiln atmosphere starved of oxygen). In China, it was prized by royalty and exported widely. Korean potters achieved greatness in  celadon in  the 13th  century, but the Japanese came late to the glaze in the 17th  century at a small number of  kilns.  Atsushi Takagaki spent decades researching  the  glaze  and  has  evolved  his   own  version of  it  by carefully layering two types of  celadon glaze: one traditional and the other a reinvented celadon infused with delicate scarlet red hues amongst a sea of  green, producing an extremely subtle effect on his  angular slab-built forms.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer


Yasukage Kato XIV
Large Platter, 2010
Glazed stoneware
Oribe ware
 
Kato  was the 14th  generation of  his  family to make pottery, stretching all the way back to the Momoyama period. Working both in  the white-glazed Shino and the more lively   Oribe traditions,  Kato   successfully  balanced  classical technique with sculptural sensibilities to produce works that are at once utilitarian vessels and fine  works of  art. His  two Oribe-style pieces in this exhibition demonstrate his elegant treatment of two functional wares, a flower vase and a platter. In particular the platter,  with the  combed pattern  of   a  swirling water current, demonstrates his poetic approach to ceramic design.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Hadetake Ando  (b. 1938)
Long Platter, ca.  1995
Glazed stoneware
Oribe ware
 
This  massive platter is  a sculpted basin coated with glassy- green Oribe glaze.  Oribe wares have been produced in  the Mino  area near Nagoya since the late 16th  century, under the influence of  the tea master Furuta Oribe (1544-1615), who inspired a playful style of  ceramics using bold, glossy glazes often combined with underglaze decorations. Oribe wares have also traditionally featured eccentric forms, inspired by human play and by nature.  In Ando’s platter,  deep grooves have been cut from the slab of clay, the edges torn and ragged with dollops of green dripping from the base. Hidetake Ando was  named  an  Important  Prefectural  Cultural Property  in  2003 (Gifu-Ken Juyo Mukei  Bunkazai, the prefectural version of the Living National Treasure).
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Katsumi Kako (b. 1965)
Bowl, 2009
Ash-glazed stoneware
 
Born in  1965,   the  third generation of  a  family of  potters associated  with decorative  Kyoto  ceramics,  Katsumi Kako moved away from Kyoto and this tradition to explore his individual creativity. His recent work moves beyond traditional wares and glazes to large-scale sculptural works. The artist uses a single-chambered wood-fired kiln that he built himself and is  small enough to fire without assistance.  The fugitive reds of  early Jōmon pottery feature prominently in his  work, which he calls haikaku or ash red.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Gaku Shakunaga (b. 1978)
Spiraling Pyramid, 2010
Glazed stoneware
Oribe ware
 
Growing up near the towering mountains of  Toyama, Gaku Shakunaga learned pottery from his  father.  Initially creating strictly functional works, Shakunaga later focused on abstract and conceptual forms. In  his  structural works, he layers individual slabs of flattened clay to create stepped formations, evocative of the great pyramids. Using his hands to tear each slab, the clay is left  with a rough texture that exposes the rich duality and variation of the green copper Oribe glaze.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Shigemasa Higashida (b. 1955)
Waterfall Lidded Vessel, 2012
Glazed stoneware
Oribe ware
 
Shigemasa Higashida was born in  Hiroshima, Japan.  He received a BA from Shimonoseki Municipal University in 1978 and did a postgraduate course in ceramics at Gifu Prefectural Tajimi Technical  High   School. He  established his   studio  in Tokyo, where he currently works predominantly in Shino and Oribe styles.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Hiro Ajiki (b. 1948)
Stone Gate Vase, 1995
Stoneware
Bizen ware
 
Hiro Ajiki was born in Hirata in Shimane prefecture, where he still has his  kiln. He studied oil painting at college but left  the program, later choosing to study ceramics and establish his own studio and kiln in Shimane, where he works in a number of different styles, including Raku, Shino, and Bizen. He focuses primarily on tea  bowls, for which he  has  won numerous prizes, and is included in  the Metropolitan Museum of  Art’s permanent collection in New York.  However, Ajiki also creates larger forms, including sculptural works like this monumental Bizen-style piece.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Masahiro Miyao (b. 1970)
Large Vase, 2009
Stoneware with natural ash glaze
Bizen ware
 
Masahiro Miyao was born in  1970 in  Fukuoka prefecture on the island of Kyushu, and even when he was a child he knew he wanted to be a Bizen ceramic artist. With that goal in mind he dropped out of  university in  1991 and headed to Bizen to become an apprentice.  In  2001,  he established his  own kiln  just outside Bizen and has since established a strong reputation with his  elegant wares, which blend novel forms with a mastery of traditional Bizen decorative techniques.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Hiroyuki Wakimoto (b.1952)
Botamochi Long Platter, 2011
Unglazed stoneware
Bizen ware
 
Hiroyuki Wakimoto was born on Tsushima, a small island west of Kyushu. He studied painting at college, but it was not until later that he decided to pursue ceramics as a career, and moved to Bizen where he apprenticed with a master potter. He  has been creating Bizen wares in Imbe, a small farming town near the Inland Sea, for over 20 years. He  uses traditional Bizen techniques like hidasuki, in  which patterns are burned onto the vessel surface using rice straw. This  platter features three botamochi,  circles created  by covering the plate’s surface with rice straw and then placing three balls of clay on top of the straw. During firing, the rice straw burns, darkening most of the surface of the platter. The surface under the clay does not burn or become covered with ash, so they remain the original color of the clay.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Ryuichi Kakurezaki (b.1950)
Dead  Bird Form  Wall Vase,  2009
Stoneware with natural ash glaze
Bizen ware
 
Kakurezaki is one of the most popular ceramicists working at the Bizen kilns.  Originally from Nagasaki, Kakurezaki trained with Jun Isezaki (a designated a prefectural cultural treasure Bizen ceramic artist), and then established his  own kiln  in
1985.  Besides creating the traditional style of  Bizen wares that have been popular since the late 16th  century,  he is  a notable innovator in the style. He  experiments with form by cutting jagged ridges into the sides of  vessels, twists forms, and creates vases inspired by unusual aspects of  nature. His original designs earned him  success and a reputation soon after establishing his  own kiln.  He  has won numerous juried exhibitions as well  as the Japan Ceramic Society Prize.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Tetsuya Ishiyama  (b.1973)
Lidded Water Vessel, n.d.
Stoneware with natural ash glaze Bizen ware
 
Tetsuya Ishiyama was born in Saitama prefecture near Tokyo, and has had residencies in China and Taiwan, but has his studio is in Shigaraki. The style of  his  ceramics extends beyond the roughly textured  Shigaraki ware; in  fact he is  most known for his  refined, curving sculptural pieces, many of  which are finished with gold and silver. His works have won awards throughout Japan and have been exhibited and collected internationally.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Shiro Tsujimura (b.1947)
Fire,Water, Clay Scroll, ca.2010
Ink on paper mounted as a hanging scroll
 
Renowned potter  Shiro Tsujimura was born in  Nara but left for Tokyo to study oil  painting in  the 1960s, during which time he became drawn to pottery.   After two years at a Zen temple near Nara, he returned to his  family home and then built a studio and kilns   there.    For over 40 years, he has created wares in a broad range of ceramic styles and has also created  striking calligraphic works, many of  which celebrate the pottery-makeing process.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Yui Tsujimura (b.1975)
Large Bowl, 2007
Stoneware with natural ash glaze
Sue ware
 
Yui  Tsujimura, he eldest son of  the renowned potter,  Shiro Tsujimura, grew up in  close contact  with freshly made pots and vessels. His works are characterized by elegant, organic forms and colors, which are often  achieved using natural ash glazes and are inspired by a range of  native styles.  The addition of  Japanese oak ash to the kiln  during the firing creates a fresh, blue-green glaze on many of his  works.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Shigemasa Higashida (b.1955)
Oribe Platter, 2015
Glazed stoneware
Oribe ware
 
Shigemasa Higashida was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, and studied  at  Shimonoseki Municipal University and  at  Gifu Prefectural  Tajimi Technical  High   School.    He   established his  studio in  Koganei-shi  in  Tokyo and has been producing ceramics in  two principle styles — milky-white Shino wares and Oribe wares which have long been admired for their vivid green glazes and unconventional, often whimsical, forms.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

Satoshi Arakawa  (b.1971)
Wide-necked Vase, n.d.
Ash-glazed (yohen) stoneware
Shigaraki ware
 
Satoshi Arakawa is a young potter from Yamagata Prefecture in  northern Japan.  A love of  Shigaraki clay inspired him  to move to the ceramics town, apprentice to Shigaraki potter, Shiro Otani, and then establish a studio and kiln  of  his  own, where he creates wares that express much of  the traditional spirit of Shigaraki ware.  His large storage jars,  vases, and sake wares feature the warm body color and splashes of “accidental” ash glaze that characterize Shigaraki ceramics, but he adds a dramatic, contemporary flare to these traditional wares with his  designs.

Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer


Seiko Minegishi (b.1952
Celadon Bowl, n.d.
Celadon-glazed stoneware
 
Seiko Minegishi is an independent ceramic artist from Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo. He  studied ceramics for a short time with a teacher in Nagano Prefecture, but is mostly self-taught. Early in his  career as a ceramic artist, he became fascinated with Chinese and  Korean  green-glazed celadons, both by their elegant  forms and their rich   and challenging glazes. After prolific research and much trial and error, he perfected the making of exquisitely crackled celadon glazes ranging in tone from brown to green to blue.
 
Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer


Hiromi Okamura (b.1953)
Horse with Boy, 2013
Glazed stoneware
 
Born in 1953 in Kyoto, Japan, Okumura received his art training in  the Department of  Ceramics at Kyoto  City  University of Arts. He  launched his  independent career in  ceramics after earning his  Masters degree in 1978,  and has since been one of  Kyoto’s most prolific and original ceramic artists  working with many diverse styles and techniques  and showing his work widely in  Japan and overseas.  This  ongoing series of incense burners is produced in the shape of  zodiac animals of each year in the East Asian lunar calendar.

Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer
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