FRESH APPROACH

I remember the first piece of Oribe style pottery that I saw by Takauchi Shugo nearly 30 years ago, it was a tall, wonky bucket vase form with a sculpted handle passing through either side of the raised handles. The surface was a mixture of gouged out channels and incised design covered over in a rich, deep green Oribe glaze which straddled tradition and modern quite well; a similar piece can be seen In Rupert Faulkner's book, JAPANESE STUDIO CRAFTS on page 33. The illustrated mizusashi is a much later piece by Shugo, still skirting the conventions of traditional pottery while making a rather adventurous and contemporary statement adding a fresh approach to Oribe-yaki. Glazed over in a wonderful, dark Oribe glaze with areas of clear glaze high lighted by spontaneous, abstract designs unique to the potter, this mizusashi is a remarkable statement about the potential of traitional tea vessels that push a bit at the boundries, this is surely where Takauchi Shugo shines the brightest.

"Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way."  Aristotle