JUST "BEING"

Illustrated is a whimsical, playful set of katakuchi and guinomi made by Kowari Tetsuya. I was contacted by a fellow collector in Europe regarding our shared interests in Japanese modern pottery and Kowari Tetsuya in particular and as we started sharing photos back and forth I received a treasure trove of photos, most of pots that I had never seen and was thankful for the opportunity. This particular pairing is of a vivid Shino glazed katakuchi tokkuri pouring vessel and a dancing guinomi both showing areas of iron and of course all natural ash deposited during the intense process of wood firing. As with most of Kowari's work both pieces are casually thrown with a spirited defiance to convention and perhaps a slight disregard for all that gravity has to offer. However you respond to Kowari's work, I find the slightly eccentric nature of his pieces to be warm, genuine and welcoming and in this case, each seems to bid the viewer to participate in the "being". Enjoy the whimsy, freedom and spirited nature of these pieces which at the end of the day it is all of these attributes that make Kowari's pots stand out in a crowd.