AN ODD COUPLE

I received this picture in an email from a fellow collector in Canada a while back and as soon as I opened the jpeg I was back in Japan for just a moment. On one of our last trips visiting with Furutani Michio, his wife brought out a large lacquer wood serving tray covered with varying yunomi, small bowls and plates in a wide array of styles including wood fired kohiki ware and all types of Shigaraki and Iga each one playing host to various small treats and confectioneries. It may play on the nostalgic but moments like these are seared in to my memory where life and pottery blend.

Though not quite as dramatic a presentation, though there is always time to expand, this odd couple still makes for a grand gesture, waiting patiently for some tea or perhaps a spirit to fulfill the purpose of each of these charming yunomi. On the left is a classic form by Furutani Michio with just enough movement in the clay to keep the eye entertained with the wood fired kohiki surface as rustic and austere as some melancholy Kamakura era poem while the more lively piece on the right is visually activated by a series of deep throwing marks that place the cup in a perpetual state of movement with the right combination of ash and hiiro completing the narration of purpose.

I should also say that I use the term austere, austerity very carefully, in my mind it is a compliment and a great descriptor of Furutani Michio's work, it is the process of considering the purpose and form and stripping it to the minimum where 99% of the superfluous detail is removed and in this an honesty or truth is revealed. In doing so perhaps the tiniest amount of "extra" detail is left to entertain the eye and spark a conversation that may even betray the minimalist aesthetic in some small degree and lasts a lifetime.

"The simplest things are often the truest." Richard Bach