photo: SAIKI Taku
Black-slipped Kairagi Shino bowl
| Artist | KUWATA Takuro |
|---|---|
| Year | 2012 |
| Material/ Technique | porcelain, glaze |
| Size/ Duration | H35 × W43.5 × D40.5cm |
| Copyright Notice | © KUWATA Takuro |
| Year of acquisition/ donation | 2012 |
| Description | Born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1981. Lives and works in Gifu. Kuwata Takuro, who gained national attention through his work with IKEYAN☆, a group of young Japanese ceramists, produces ceramic works of a hitherto unknown type characterized by bizarrely exaggerated forms and bright Pop colors. Kuwata is a versatile ‘kogei’ (craft) artist who creates cups, tea-bowls, plates, and other kogei works usable in daily life, as well as art objects intended purely for exhibiting. His theme in both cases, whether vessels or objects, is ‘playfulness.’ Before becoming a kogei artist, he dreamed briefly of becoming a dancer, and indeed, we find in the focal points of his artworks a sharpness of color reflecting a musical spirit. In this piece, Kuwata has taken the ‘kairagi’ Shino tea-bowl and developed it on a large-scale. Kairagi or ‘crawling of the glaze’ occurs when the glaze contracts leaving parts of the clay exposed. Feeling interested in this effect, Kuwata created a tea bowl, but in doing so, he has taken that effect to radical extremes. Kairagi is feature found in many famous tea-bowls, such as the Ido tea-bowls so highly esteemed in the tea world. It came to popularity as a result of SEN no Rikyu’s fondness for the natural beauty of kairagi occurring as an accidental effect in a poor firing. Kuwata’s tea-bowl, however, is a large sculpture that exaggerates the kairagi technique to humorous, manga-like effect. Using deformities produced by the clay’s own weight, moreover, he has imparted change to the object, enhanced by bright colors, and produced a rhythmical installation. |
NOTES
This Collection Data page contains the works and materials in the collection of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, as of April 1, 2018.
Artists are listed alphabetically by artist’s surname.
Works and materials by the same artists are listed according to the date of the work in principle.
Works whose dates are unidentified are listed at the end of each item. Some works are not listed according to the date of work due to their relations.
The data of works and materials are listed in order of title, production year, material/technique/form, dimensions, donor’s name, copyright holder and credit for photograph.
Dimensions are given by height (H) x width (W) in centimeters for plane work, and height (H) x width (W) x depth (D) in cm for 3-D work. Diameter (Ø) is used for circular work.
For the name of country or city, the name currently used in English is listed in principle.