SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

When I first saw this Shino mizusashi, I was reminded of a number of the post-war Mino potters like Arakawa and Kato Tokuro along with some of their contemporaries that were creating works inspired by the Momoyama aesthetic. This classically inspired pot relies on the past as much as when it was made being both something old but something new at the same time. Though an earlier work by Hori Ichiro it has all of the traits one expects on his pots to this day, from strong and purposeful form to understated decoration and exceptional glaze apllication and quality, though older, it still has the determined strength of works he is currently producing. Hori's skillful use of his underglaze iron and the apllied Shino glaze create a tremendous amount of movement and complexity to the surface. Creating a vivid landscape as if he was brushing an medieval ink brush painting, the atmosphere of the pot has that feudal quality that any Momoyama specialist would be pleased with and I am reasonably sure that viewer and user alike would be more than content for a face to face encounter.