Year: 2016
Medium: porcelain, glaze, gold
Dimensions: 9.1 x 15.5 x 14.2 cm (3 5/8 x 6 1/8 x 5 5/8 in.)
Acquired from SBI Art Auction, 2026
The glaze is covered in fine cracks throughout the interior and exterior of the wide-mouthed vessel, while gold decoration makes the entire work gleam. In ceramics, chance effects such as kairagi (plum blossom skin) and ishihaze (stone explosion) are appreciated as visual features of the firing process, but Kuwata studies the principles behind these phenomena and deliberately exaggerates them, as in this work. While demonstrating contemporary approaches to ceramic and glazing techniques, Kuwata deeply admired Seizo Hayashiya, a leading scholar of tea ceramics. He also continues to use the character “垸” (wan), adopted from Toyozo Arawakawa, the ceramic artist who influenced him most profoundly. In doing so, Kuwata engages sincerely with the spirit of tea ceramics passed down by earlier generations.
