Hello everyone, how are you all doing?
We’ve been having some bone-chilling days here in the Bizen region, and I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather myself.
A customer kindly told me about some sake made with O-machi rice from Bizen, so I think I'll drink that to warm myself up properly.
Now, as I mentioned in a previous post, I would like to introduce some new works by Ryuichi Kakurezaki.
Our first piece today is a very innovative tokkuri (sake bottle) that looks as if it were constructed from pyramid-shaped clay segments.
Holding the actual piece in your hands, it is so exquisite that you might think the parts could be separated.
The moment you touch it, you feel that every single cut was made with such care that it must have been nerve-wracking.
The firing process has also been meticulously calculated, with the hidaski (fire-cord) patterns and the bare clay surfaces clearly demarcated.
He has been careful to apply the hidaski in a flat, planar treatment that utilizes the steps in the structure, rather than letting the fire-cord patterns wrap around vertically and ruin the three-dimensional effect of the work.
I believe Kakurezaki-sensei’s ability to design in a way that makes you forget you are looking at clay is truly remarkable.
Beyond that, he incorporates the "keshiki" (scenery) that can only be achieved with ceramic clay and Bizen ware, expressing designs only possible with clay while suppressing the "clay-like" quality, and leading the piece to completion through firing techniques only possible with earthen materials.
It is a brilliance that cannot be captured by superficial terms like "sculptural beauty," such as shaving, joining, or the intrigue of three-dimensional form; rather, it is the mastery of manipulating the range of the clay material to its absolute minimum and maximum potential.
The hidaski, appearing as if boiled and dyed, is limited to a superficial 2D treatment.
There is a light scattering of sesame ash (goma) on the shoulder, but the grains are kept fine and small so as not to interfere with the 3D aspects.
It has the joy of a 3D object, changing its impression completely depending on the viewing angle.
The step where the potter’s mark is placed is also not parallel to the four vertices or sides—as expected from such a master.
(Ryuichi Kakurezaki / Bizen Sake Vessel size: diameter 10.8cm × diameter 9.6cm × height 14.1cm Sold)
For detailed images and other inquiries, please contact us below.
Tel 0869-67-2210 Fax 0869-67-2220
Email Kawaguchi Tourakuen (Click to open email client)
Go to Kawaguchi Tourakuen HP