Kuro Chawan

This black tea bowl is by Koichiro Isezaki, who was born as the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and who has brought a fresh breeze to the world of Bizen ware with his exceptional sense and masterful sculpting skills. Departing significantly from his previous focus on cut-based forms, this piece signals a leap into a new stage through its soft, hand-molded curves. Created by slowly expanding the clay with vertical finger movements, the impression of his fingerprints creates intriguing textures that contribute to the overall softness of the work. The "goma" (ash glaze), which has a frosted-glass quality characteristic of this particular kiln firing, has reacted with the black clay to produce a rare, cobalt-blue "kase-goma" (weathered ash) effect. It creates a one-of-a-kind landscape, as if the brown ash had weathered and peeled away to reveal the blue underneath. Signed wooden box to be provided later (please allow some time for shipment)
Diameter 13.1cm x Diameter 12.5cm x Height 11.5cm Koichiro Isezaki was born as the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki. The Isezaki family is a prestigious name in Bizen ware, with his grandfather being the Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki and his uncle being Mitsuru Isezaki, also an Intangible Cultural Property holder. Koichiro aspired to pottery from an early age. After graduating from the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo Zokei University in 1994, he studied abroad in the United States. He studied pottery for approximately two years under New York-based ceramic artist Jeff Shapiro, which greatly broadened his perspective on art and ceramics. After returning to Japan in 2000, he continued his training under his father's guidance alongside his father’s students. In 2002, he submitted a work to the Tanabe Museum of Art's "Chanoyu" (Tea Ceremony) Exhibition, where it was selected for the first time.