Kenjiro Kitade

Functional Series, Ceramic Baseball Bat: ‘Kanabo’

2019

Kitade’s search for the universal common ground in life, even in conflict. ‘Conflict is part of human nature, there is always a Side A and Side B in life and in this show it is the s...

The main theme of Kitade’s artwork is focused on questioning. The sources of the ideas are picked up from his own life experiences, starting from personal experiences and expanding ...

The main theme of Kitade’s artwork is focused on questioning. The sources of the ideas are picked up from his own life experiences, starting from personal experiences and expanding ...

The main theme of Kitade’s artwork is focused on questioning. The sources of the ideas are picked up from his own life experiences, starting from personal experiences and expanding ...

Organic hybrid ceramic sculpture depicting a human-insect figure, combining expressive modeling, mixed materials, and a distorted bodily presence. This work belongs to the series Bi...

Drawing inspiration from ancient ceramic traditions, including Korean pottery and the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic, Laura Pasquino (Grège Gallery) explores the beauty of imperfection...

"Purple Dawn", a ceramic sculpture piece by Japanese potter Kiyoharu Ichino (1957-). Purchased from Touching Stone, Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2003. Tradition meets renovation, this sculptural piece with its slab like minimal shape draws the viewer into its mysterious shape that is reminiscent of a monument. Its surface, with the typical Tanba clay fired at very high temperature and completely free of glaze, radiates a subtle metallic sheen that is nearly in a shade of purple. This piece was purchased from Touching Stone, Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2003. Artist's bio from the gallery and the exhibition: "Kiyoharu Ichino was born in 1957 in Tachikui into an extended family steeped in pottery-making tradition. He learned all aspects of Tanba pottery since childhood. When he was twenty, he moved to Seto to study pottery under a master of Akatsu-yaki. Upon returning to Tachikui, he launched his career with the Tanba Group Kiln. In 1983, he established his own kiln and began showing in galleries all over Japan. His works have been selected repeatedly for the prestigious juried Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition sponsored by the Japan Crafts Association. In 1995, he was nominated to be a permanent member of The Japan Crafts Association, an honor bestowed to the most experienced and talented artists. Traditional Tanba pottery is fired unglazed at very high temperature in large wood-fueled kilns. Ichino uses both an anagama (hole kiln) and a noborigama (climbing kiln), burning almost a thousand bundles of wood over several days to bring out the unique personalities of Tanba clay, which is renowned for its rich texture and deep purplish brown colors. Many of his pieces show silvery fire-marks like swirling mists left by the wood fire. His pieces appear to be integral parts of the clay rather than separate objects made from it. To show the unique clay texture, he often includes seemingly unfinished edges in his designs, exposing the rough clay body. Despite the high level of sophistication and innovation, Ichino's works maintain a strong connection with the ancient Tanba pottery tradition. Ichino should be no stranger to many Santa Fe residents. His work has been exhibited both in Touching Stone Gallery and as part of a major exhibition in the New Mexico Museum of International Folk Art in 2006. About Tanba ware...

One of several arresting sculptures by Danish contemporary ceramist Aage Birck in which he incorporates the tools from other arts into his work, using them as details or ornamentation. This particular piece is inset with porcelain weaving...