QUIRKY

Quirky /ˈkwərkē/ characterized by pecular or unexpected traits

In a little show and tell with a fellow collector a while back I showed him a rather modern Oribe vase by Tsukamoto Haruhiko and his first impression and comment was "what a quirky piece". A couple of days latter he emailed and said that after thinking about it he was very impressed with the playfulness of the form and his use of the glaze surface, he thought that quirky may be misunderstood as a negative comment. It has been quite some time since I had access to this vase but truthfully my first impression was rather similar, the vase is filled with movement, casual in its creation, playful in its demeanor and posture and rather idiosyncratic in its presentation, a perfect addition to the modern Oribe tradition. 

I honestly don't think quirky is a bad descriptor and think about it as you survey the form and its wonky mouth and oddly placed lugs near the base of the pot, how is it best to characterize this pot? The rather vivid throwing lines and puctuation of myriads of small feldspar inclusions bring a sense of both tension and motion into focus and the oribe glaze surface has an expert application of a well practiced water-colorist where shades and depth of color crystalize the evocative surface. I should mention though not exactly my vernacular I agreed with the collector as to his choice of words as it is rather clear that Tsukamoto Haruhiko's Oribe pots are rarely exactly what you are expecting to see as they are pulled from the box.