RANGE

When ever I see a pot by or think about the potter Kishimoto Kennin, I can't help but be impressed by the range and dedication to varying traditions that he has pursued in his nearly seven decades long career. The sheer diversity and mastery of a wide array of traditional Mino pottery styles couple with his exquisite kannyu-seiji celadon pottery would be more than enough if the styles were divided among a half a dozen potters let alone one, but over his long pottery tenure, Kishimoto has desplayed a single minded approach to each pursuit until he mastered the technical and aesthetic boundries of Shino, Ki-Seto, Iga, Seiji and others to single him out as a true rennaissance potter. Though perhaps best known and appreciated for his exceptional Iga works, his esquisite celadons blend a true understanding of form, design, decoration and firing to create stunning and contemplative pots, some like the one illustrated decorated with a simple branch and blossom design using underglaze iron (tetsu-e) and copper red (yuriko).  As I look into the celadons of Kishimoto Kennin it becomes clear rather quickly that it is easy to lose any sense of time or place lost in the depth of the refractive surfaces.