Wild Stuff

Look at this!

It's work by Masaomi Yasunaga, a Japanese ceramic artist. He trained in and joined an approach to ceramics which is all about sculpture, in opposition to functional pottery.

 There's an exhibit, only this week, at Nonaka-Hill  in Los Angeles. Pictures are as close as I'll get to  it, but it's fascinating. The individual pieces don't grab me quite so much, as it is not at all my usual taste.

 But the combination, in this exhibit! Pieces on gravel, and the whole makes me think of objects retrieved from ancient shipwrecks.

That's odd, given the intent to make anti-traditional pots. His contemporary work is made of glaze; that's the material, not the surface covering. The only clay involved is that in the glaze. Because it melts in the kiln, the glaze is shaped in sand or earth forms, which go into the kiln, and the pots uncovered, like an archeological dig, after firing. So very new, and referring to very old things.

He also makes dishes, sold at art prices. I like them, with far less of a jolt to my ideas and feelings.

This is wonderful -- the pots, the ideas, the exhibit design, the shake-up for me.