UNCOMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP

Unfettered and simple are certainly varying ways to describe this serene Iga chawan by Sugimoto Sadamitsu. The simple, high sided teabowl tapers little from bottom to top and is crowned with a lip that undulates and moves just enough to give it a weathered and natural appearance as if worn down by the ferocity and velocity of the firing. The surface paints a subtle mural like a Momoyama ink painting across the piece which is high lighted on the very face with an area puncuated with green ash while the area at the base to the foot creates a wonderful shadowline of negative space. About as feudal looking as they come, Sugimoto has created a bowl full of complex subtlties with everything extra cast aside to present a chawan full of dialogue in a lasting and uncomplicated relationship with the viewer.