Frozen Cloud II-8, Satoru Hoshino

Artwork Overview

born 1945
Frozen Cloud II-8, 2004
Where object was made: Asia
Material/technique: stoneware; black slip
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 51.6 x 36 x 34.5 cm
Weight (Weight): 53 lbs
Credit line: Gift of the artist
Accession number: 2018.0161
On display: Lee Study Center

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Images

Label texts

Form & Flux: Contemporary East Asian Ceramics and Surface Stories

Renowned for his raw, elemental installations, Kyoto artist Hoshino Satoru emphasizes clay’s natural energy and origins. Once part of the avant-garde Sōdeisha group, his approach shifted after a 1986 landslide destroyed his studio. He began to see clay not just as material, but as a force of nature with its own vitality. Frozen Cloud embodies this philosophy—its spiral form reflects natural motions like tornadoes or hurricanes, capturing the dynamic essence of the earth itself.

Shattering the Void: Realms of Meaning in East Asian Art

Frozen Cloud is a contemporary contrast to the older, more traditional ceramics in this exhibition. Artist Satoru Hoshino emphasizes the essence of clay and its earthy origins in his work. The spiral movement of Frozen Cloud embodies motion that can be observed in many natural phenomena, from the rotation of the sun to the movement of a typhoon or hurricane.

The artist wrote about how a natural disaster that destroyed his studio changed his understanding of clay:

“My approach to clay changed completely after I experienced the natural disaster of a landslide in 1986. Until then, clay had been a material with which to embody the ideas and images already in my mind. Since then, however, the clay has become not simply the material from which a work is derived, but something that lies before me as a force of nature, an existence that overwhelms trivial intentions. The clay has a life and energy of its own; by excluding small thoughts, it forces me into a symbiotic relation with it.”

Salina Art Center: Shattering the Void: Realms of Meaning in East Asian Art

Frozen Cloud is a contemporary contrast to the older, more traditional ceramics in this exhibition. Artist Satoru Hoshino emphasizes the essence of clay and its earthy origins in his work. The spiral movement of Frozen Cloud embodies motion that can be observed in many natural phenomena, from the rotation of the sun to the movement of a typhoon or hurricane.

The artist wrote about how a natural disaster that destroyed his studio changed his understanding of clay:

“My approach to clay changed completely after I experienced the natural disaster of a landslide in 1986. Until then, clay had been a material with which to embody the ideas and images already in my mind. Since then, however, the clay has become not simply the material from which a work is derived, but something that lies before me as a force of nature, an existence that overwhelms trivial intentions. The clay has a life and energy of its own; by excluding small thoughts, it forces me into a symbiotic relation with it.”

Exhibitions