TRICKY SUBJECT

As I look at this chawan, I am reminded of the lineage from Rosanjin to Arakawa, Arakawa to Kato Kozo and finally to the maker of this bowl, Hayashi Kyousuke, the thread and influences are there but there is a resolute voice as well of the current generation. Though I see elements of the past and present in this chawan I find Hayashi's Ki-Seto to stand out from the pack, unique in its color, texture and use in the same way I look at the very same glaze by Hori Ichiro. While Hori Ichiro's Ki-Seto and pottery in general has a rustic, old and elemental look, Hayashi seems to pursue a sense of formality and more refined appearance in his forms and this could be in part due to his highly structured Yuteki-Temmoku work that he is vey well known for.       

This chawan is composed of rather simple and straightforward lines acting as the bones for what is to come, the lip, mikomi and kodai are all very well addressed but they are not the adventure unto themselves, the structure is the canvas for a surface that is idiosyncratic, intrepid and contemporary not terribly unlike the surfaces of Raku Kichizaemon XV. As you can see, there is movement to the surface where the intermingling of matt and wet tributaries create a landscape that interacts with hand and mind at the very same moment.  Over time I have seen quite a few Kuro-Oribe and Ki-Seto chawan by Hayashi Kyousuke and despite looking at the forms as formal and streamlined so often, his unique approach to creating his various surface brings more than enough movement and spirit to his work, creating pots that have something new to add to the traitions in which he works as well as have an uncommon story to tell about an individuals approach to a tricky subject.