large pot, Tsujimura Shirō

Exhibition Label: "Nature/Natural," Jan-2014, Kris Ercums Tsujimura Shirō is a celebrated Japanese potter who blends a historic approach to ceramic production with his personal contemporary vision. He began his artistic career as an oil painter, but an encounter with an exquisite Korean stoneware vessel at the Japan Folk Craft Museum changed his life forever, setting him on the path to pottery. In a workshop located deep in the mountains west of Nara, Tsujimura experiments with materials and methods used in traditional ceramics, such as Iga and Shigaraki, and creating works that are expressive, dynamic, and refined. In this jar, he uses clay from Shigaraki to create the pale orange color of the body. Clay from this region is characterized by the inclusion of large particles of feldspar that burst during the firing process, forming white crystalline deposits on the surface. The green glaze made of natural ash freely flows at a descending diagonal, possibly the result of a tilted kiln. This pot—with its gritty surface, partial cracking, and uneven glaze—embodies the irregularity and spontaneity for which Tsujimura strives. Archive Label 2003: Working in the Nara countryside where he was born, the potter Tsujimura Shiro creates variations on several traditional wares, especially Iga and Shigaraki, using a wood-fired kiln and relying on natural ash glaze. He uses an unusually small kiln so that he can fire often and see the results of his experimentation quickly. Larger wood-fired kilns are typically fired only two or three times a year. Tsujimura works fast and with intense concentration, striving for a sense of freedom and spontaneity in his work. In this jar, he has used clay from Shigaraki. Shigaraki clay is high in feldspar, which rises to the surface during firing and forms white crystalline deposits, such as those seen on the surface of this pot. The pot tilted in the kiln, causing globlets of natural green glaze to flow downward at a diagonal. Such kiln accidents are highly prized among tea practitioners in Japan, for whom irregularity is an important aesthetic concept.