I found this crunchy, barnacle encrusted little fellow
hiding in plain sight, mixed among toy cars, old transistor radios and other
bric-a-brac in the offerings of a general, second-hand dealer on the web. While
that was interesting enough in the discovery, the fact of who, what, where and
when was even more intriguing to me, obviously a Japanese Shigaraki kogo, made
sometime prior to 1992 and by Kohyama Yasuhisa. For anyone who knows Kohyama’s
work, the firing, well the surface is something of an anomaly considering his
preference for quiet, restrained surface development but this little gem must
have been somewhere where the fullest weight and ferocity of the firing came to
bare as if laser focused on this diminutive and limited lump of clay formed
into a traditional Japanese house complete with thatched roof (kuzuya-kogo, 葛屋香合). I should mention, sometimes when a piece
like this comes along, I can’t help but be pleased as punch. First off, I love
diminutive pieces, secondly, I couldn’t ask for a more intense surface and
third it is by a potter who's work I truly admire and acquiring a piece just
outside of the normal body of work rarely hurts my feelings. I am glad I made
that one more click on the mouse to encounter this Kohyama Yasuhisa kogo, small
or not, it has a large presence and an even longer impact with a surface that at
least in my experience is not often encountered.
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