Friday, August 28, 2015

LAWS OF ATTRACTION

As I look at the works of Kawai Kanjiro, I can immediately see the pottery laws of attraction at play. His works have a simplicity and grace while his forms are strong and compelling finished with rich, honest and spontaneous glazes and decoration. It is very easy to understand the appeal of such work which in many cases translates to his two dimensional renderings just like this simple ink wash of a simple decanter and stopper with elegant and captivating decoration on the two visible sides of the pot. The image is portrayed to create depth and take full advantage of the form which it depicts looking just like it can be picked up and used. Balancing a certain degree of brevity with the essentials of the pot through ink, Kawai captures the essence of the vessel with the least amount of detail and effort much like he does with the impressive and diverse body of work he has graced us with.