Early 21st Century Modern Japanese Studio Pottery Oribe Tea Pot by Ken Matsuzaki

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A contemporary studio ceramic tea pot with metal handle made by Japanese potter Ken Matsuzaki (1950-). The stoneware tea pot … Read more A contemporary studio ceramic tea pot with metal handle made by Japanese potter Ken Matsuzaki (1950-). The stoneware tea pot showcases a thick dripping Oribe green glaze partially revealing the unglazed part of the body, which is decorated with scrolling pattern of ash glaze. The work is rooted in both Yohen Shino glaze technique and Oribe tradition, but interestingly it also paid homage to Sancai pottery in Tang Dynasty when green glaze was prominently used to drip and splash onto the pottery. One can see in this harmonious piece, the innovative reinterpretation of ancient aesthetics that cross the cultures and time. The tea pot comes with an inscribed tomobako storage box with title in kanji, the artist's signature and seal. The metal handle is detachable.
Ken Matsuzaki’s haptic ceramics bring a contemporary approach to traditional Japanese ceramicware, most notably 16th century Oribe pottery. His irregular vessels, tea bowls, and sake cups reflect the artist’s singular process of kiln firing combined with more than two decades of experience on the wheel and in dynamic handbuilding. Matsuzaki has exhibited widely in Japan; he gained a greater international profile after his inclusion in a 2003 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that explored the lasting influence of Oribe. Since 1977, Matsuzaki has worked at his studio in Mashiko, where he built the unique anagama wood-fired kiln that produces the expressive glaze effects for which he is known. Inspired by the philosophy of the Mingei movement—which privileged “ordinary people’s crafts”—Matsuzaki’s ceramics are the results of a humble and painstaking approach. His works are in such collections as the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of fine Arts, Boston; and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. (From Artsy). See less