THE THING ABOUT TEXTU

To hold any pot is to engage in an unspoken psychological dialogue where texture can be among the primary syntax of the conversation. Whether in hand or your computer monitor (or phone these days) a rather complex sensory loop activates where either our eyes rush information to the brain and/ or the nerve endings in our fingers do not merely register surface friction, they probe for intent where texture is intoxicating. A rough, unglazed surface demands an alert, fully present touch, grounding the mind firmly in the immediate physical reality. Conversely, a smooth, fluid surface offers a soothing, contemplative sanctuary where the topography becomes preeminent. The thing about texture is that through continued tactile exploration, a pot ceases to be a passive object and becomes an intimate partner in an enduring, quiet human relationship, one which a collector rarely forgets.      

Illustrated is a Tokoname same-gawa koro by Kato Yoshiaki, many of his works are an exercise in controlled tactile and visual chaos. The vivid sharkskin texture achieves a dramatic, visceral presence, where the glaze has crawled and clustered into punctuated, biological islands. This technique demands an exquisite, perilous tension in the kiln, forcing the thick feldspathic glaze to split and tear itself apart, crawling under intense heat. The heavily crackled, amber-to-green invites an almost meditative investigation by the fingertips, offering an intense contrast between the glassy depths of the fissures and the rugged, unyielding plateaus that surround the quirky form specific to this potter where his animated and gestural creations are as recognizable as his surfaces. Yoshiaki captures a moment in time, where a violent transformation is frozen forever into this profound, intimate landscape.