Platinum-decorated glass "Kagutsuchi"

This is the new "Platinum-Glazed Glass: Kagutsuchi" by Toru Ichikawa, who studied under Ryuichi Kakizaki and made a sensational debut. It is an exceptionally creative work, true to Ichikawa’s style of transforming his ceaseless flow of ideas into form through the sublime medium of clay. This glass, from his new "Kagutsuchi" series, is a bold, modern piece inspired by "Hinokagutsuchi-no-Kami," the god of fire in Japanese mythology. Recalling the myth that Hinokagutsuchi-no-Kami was born burning his mother, Izanami-no-Mikoto, the piece features an intense kairagi glaze that appears as if it has been fired to the point of breaking, with the glaze's shrinkage pushed to its absolute limit. As the fire god is also worshipped as the god of metallurgy, this work seems to embody Ichikawa's professional pride in the act of creating objects through the fire of ceramics. In this piece, the platinum glaze has been subjected to such intense shrinkage that it takes on the texture of weathered stone, evoking the feeling of looking at an ancient tablet. The interior, by contrast, displays even more dramatic kairagi, allowing one to feel the power of the fire god who burns through platinum. Signed wooden box (Shiho-san) included
Diameter 7.4cm x Diameter 7.5cm x Height 10.7cm Toru Ichikawa was born in Tokyo. He began his apprenticeship under Ryuichi Kakizaki in June 2011 and established his own studio in Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture, in January 2015.