An internet friend sent me this photo a short while
back and thought I would share it along with a quote from Dr. Fred Baekeland that
is always in the back of my mind; "Kondo Yuzo is one of the very few
modern potters to bring something new to the otherwise sterile field of
underglaze blue-and-whie porcelain."*. I must admit, it is not everyday
you see such a majestic Kondo Yuzo masterwork, which this certainly is with
underglaze blue and overglaze red enamel and gold making for such a rich and
enticing surface and piece. I have admired Kondo's work all the way back to our
first encounter in the LIVING NATIONAL TREASURES OF JAPAN exhibition (1983),
coming face to face with his rich, bold and evocative sometsuke painted
porcelain was a wonderful experience and we have enjoyed every chance encounter
since that time. Though only a photo, this vivid image communicates its volume
and power through the stark background decorated with red, white, blue and some
gold creating a lush landscape that only Kondo could capture blending Momoyama
ink painting, sometsuke decoration and modern expressionism all about his three
dimensional canvas.
(*MODERN JAPANESE CERAMICS IN AMERICAN COLLECTIONS,
pg. 112, entry #29)
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