Wednesday, April 24, 2019

KYOTO-SUGATA

One of the things I love about the various Kawai school potters is their unique sense of form especially when it comes to the molded henko they are so well known for. Innovative, provocative and elegant forms, many related to the Kyoto sense of style are a wonderful  stage for the variety of glazes and decorations that sprung from Kawai Kanjiro and were passed on within the family and to many of his students from deep, dark temmoku, rich shinsha reds and the world famous gosu blues. The illustrated henko was made by Kawai Hisashi and has a direct relationship to those of his master with his own unique sensibility thrown in and perhaps a small dose of the elegance that the old Imperial Capital, Kyoto is known for. The full form begins and ends with the same style of angular termination that ties the form together and is glazed over in a whitish, translucent crackle which is highlighted with areas of red that has run and created areas of droozy, moss like tendrils that bring movement to the surface of this engaging piece. This pot is definitely a classic henko that draws its inspirations from earlier days and Kanjiro as an expression of the potters inner voice adding another page to the Kyoto saga of the Kawai-mon.