porcelain exhibition
Katsutoshi Mizuno
April 23 (Friday) – May 30 (Sunday), 2021
Time & Style Midtown
The artist will be present from Friday, April 23 to Sunday, April 25 (scheduled)
We have held exhibits of Mr. Mizuno’s works every year since 2011. For the past ten years, beautiful white porcelain vessels have arrived without interruption at the time when the cherry blossoms bloom. Alongside new works for this year, there will be pieces from 10 or 20 years ago arranged together in the store, each bathed in its own light. These works, revealing newly created freshness and a presence that never fades over time, remind us of an unwavering sense of values.
About 400 years have passed since the technology for porcelain was transmitted from China to Japan. Through the efforts of so many potters handing down their art, ceramics have long fascinated people. As a creator playing a part in upholding porcelain’s creation, Mr. Mizuno follows the path of classics crafted by potters and creators of the past, continuing to do works through “replication” backed by an understanding of the creators’ intentions and historical backgrounds.
Over the past year, we have been forced into lives of constraint, and people’s lifestyles are said to have been changed. Amid this, Mr. Mizuno says, “I just go to the wheel every day.” We believe that this solemn attitude, steady amidst the shifting tides of time, yields works with an appeal that never changes.
“Replication” is creating items by sensing the backdrop behind earlier times and how people lived then as told through old porcelain, glass vessels, lacquerware, and so on, just as classical music created centuries ago still lives, played through the interpretation of many musicians.
“I think this vessel was made in Arita around 1650. I bought it because I wanted to make it. I was taught what replication really means.” (Mr. Mizuno)
Profile
1960 Born in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture
1981 After university graduation, enrolled in Seto Yogyo Kunren-ko school for ceramics
1982 Joined Kutani Seiyou
1990 Became independent in the former village of Hirota in Ehime Prefecture
2010 Relocated to Kure