Japanese Studio Ceramic Vase by Ken Matsuzaki with Original Tomobako

An impressive stoneware bottle form vase by contemporary Japanese studio potter Ken Matsuzaki (1950-) circa 2010s. The solid form takes its cue from Chinese traditional plum vase (Meiping) with raised and swelled shoulder and a small opening, yet it rises from a non-conventional pentagonal faceted base. The extraordinary surface was covered with Yohen Shino glaze in a deep iron hue. Thick white slips were applied in bold strokes to the lower portion of the vase. The abstract pattern calls to mind of the imagery of the iconic ocean waves found in traditional Japanese art. The presence of the vase is strong and none-compromising, reaching back to the past yet appearing utterly modern. It is marked by the artist underneath and comes with the original tomobako with title and author inscriptions and a wrapping cloth with the artist's seal.
Ken Matsuzaki’s haptic ceramics bring a contemporary approach to traditional Japanese ceramicware, most notably 16th-century Oribe pottery. His irregular vessels, tea bowls, and sake cups reflect the artist’s singular process of kiln firing combined with more than two decades of experience on the wheel and in dynamic handbuilding. Matsuzaki has exhibited widely in Japan; he gained a greater international profile after his inclusion in a 2003 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that explored the lasting influence of Oribe. Since 1977, Matsuzaki has worked at his studio in Mashiko, where he built the unique anagama wood-fired kiln that produces the expressive glaze effects for which he is known. Inspired by the philosophy of the Mingei movement—which privileged “ordinary people’s crafts”—Matsuzaki’s ceramics are the results of a humble and painstaking approach. His works are in such collections as the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. (From Artsy)