Tsubusa Katō ceramic vase-tsubo (jar)

A jar-vase by the renowned ceramist Tsubusa Katō, immediately striking with its deliberately raw presence, where the material seems pushed to its breaking point. The dense silhouette is animated by a very physical surface treatment, alternating dark areas and lighter passages, bearing the memory of gestures and fire. An effect and power fully embraced, in this way of letting the earth, its asperities, and its controlled imperfections become the true decoration. Based in the Tomika region, Katō here inscribes an intensely organic piece within the ceramic heritage of Mino yaki (Mino ware), while giving it a contemporary energy.

The ceramist

Tsubusa Katō (1962-2025), born in Tajimi in Gifu Prefecture, is a renowned ceramist trained at the Tajimi City Design Research Institute, at the heart of one of Japan's main ceramic centers. He quickly set up independently and developed a personal body of work characterized by a particular attention to forms and surfaces, in connection with the ceramic traditions of the Mino region.

His career is recognized through his participation in major exhibitions in Japan, notably the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition, as well as by receiving important distinctions such as the Japan Ceramic Society Award and the Enku Award in 2013.

His works are now held in several public collections in Japan and internationally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, demonstrating the recognition of his work beyond Japan.

Technique and decoration

The piece is hand-formed, with a construction technique that deliberately reveals junction lines, reworkings, and compression zones, as assumed marks of the gesture. The dense and constricted silhouette is animated by an irregular modeling that captures light differently depending on the angle, reinforcing the sensation of mass and depth.

The surface offers a particularly expressive contrast between matte, sandy areas and more molten glaze layers, in gray-green, ash-white, and charcoal tones, with drips and retractions that seem to have been provoked or allowed to occur during firing. The whole evokes a material worked to its limit, then entrusted to the kiln to complete the design, in an aesthetic of trace, friction, and controlled accident.

Presentation

The piece comes with its signed wooden protective box (tomobako), as well as an information document (shiori) detailing the ceramist's profile.

Practical information

Place of manufacture
Japan (Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture)

Dimensions
Height 24 cm, Width 14 cm, Depth 13 cm

Weight
Vase + box: 3 kg

Materials
Ceramic

Period
Heisei Era (1989-2019)

Condition

This piece (dating from 1994 or 1995) shows some marks of time that fully contribute to its character and wabi sabi aesthetic.