SHARKSKIN

I received a package yesterday that I was expecting as I had received an email and tracking info for it and it contained a small gift, very small and a chawan that a collector was parting with as he is collecting only guinomi and tokkuri moving forward. That being said, the gift was a great little pair of funky hashioki by Kato Yoshiaki as well as the chawan that is illustrated here. Though I can imagine it may be a bit difficult to categorize, Kato is from Tokoname and therefore this is Tokomane-yaki and the Shino like surface is called samehada. Action packed with lots of texture and movement caused by the varying size nodules across the surface, this chawan is animated and rugged with a loosely thrown form, undulating lip and areas of faceted spatula work around the bottom half of the bowl. When I look at Kato's work I find much of it imbued with  primitive and organic qualities that appear to just happen spontaneously without contrivance or any undue amount of effort. Overall there is a lot packed in to this heavily textured surface with a wide array of techniques and qualities that Kato Yoshiaki was well known for and stands as a classic example of a rather idiosyncratic body of work. 

You can see more of this chawan over on my Trocadero page here; 

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1444399/BOLD-TOKONAME-SAMEGAWA-CHAWAN-BY-KATO-YOSHIAKI