Monday, April 14, 2014

THOSE FAMILIAR ARCHES

Cloaked in a soft, vellum like Persian blue glaze the all too familiar repeated arches design remind one of an ancient cathedral or Roman temple from ages long past. Combining the modern skills of the potter, together with an ancient tradition and design, the vase stands calmly while evoking a myriad of associations, something ever present in the works of the late Kato Kenji. His works have a sense of endurance and longevity that is not always captured by potters. Like the archetypes, I always sense a dependence on the past while looking far into the future using elements and techniques of a time gone by; Kato Kenji stands on the shoulders of numerous potters who laid the foundations for a noble tradition that has made its way to the 21st century.