Bizen sake cup

This is a Bizen sake cup by Takao Kibata, who has made his long-awaited debut after nine years of diligent training as a pupil of Jun Isezaki. The piece possesses a weathered, earthen beauty, evoking a sense of decay so profound it feels as though it was just unearthed from scorching desert sands. The natural, carbonized black of the interior draws the viewer into a darkness so deep it feels like an abyss, evoking a sense of Thanatos rarely seen in Bizen ware until now. The fragility, as if the piece might crumble away in the palm of one's hand, paradoxically serves to express the very life force of the clay.

About the "Takao Kibata New Works Exhibition" Signed wooden box (cross-braced lid)
Diameter 6.9cm x 6.8cm x Height 5.5cm Takao Kibata was born in Ibe, Bizen City, in 1974. He began studying under Bizen ceramic artist Jun Isezaki in 2002. In 2012, he built his own kiln and became independent in Shimizu, Wake Town. That same year, he received the Encouragement Award at the Tanabe Museum of Art's "Tea Ceremony Sculpture Exhibition."