CREATIVE BLEND

Emerging from the shadows, the skin of this lobed melon style Oribe vase highlighted by our Sun clearly shows off the clay texture and marks of the pottery without even a hint of ambiguity. This Oribe pot was made by Tsukamoto Haruhiko who I have written about before and like in previous examples, his works are a creative blend of whimsy, volume, form, surface and exploration. There is volume and movement at play where the form is animated, alive and filled with gesture and playfulness based on centuries of Oribe archetypes where those features are sought after and hard won by generation after generation in pursuit of the tradition. Though not terribly large in scale, the fullness of the form partially narrated by the marks of the potter are concluded with a casual and free-spirited neck and mouth that serve as a perfect conclusion to the piece where scale is relative. Tsukamoto has managed to pull together a wide array of features, details, form and surface to create a perfect addition to the Oribe tradition where I am constantly reminded, it isn’t always easy being green.