Contemporary Japanese White Glaze Ceramic Vase by Inoue Manji

A large glazed white porcelain vase in the jar-form by Japanese ceramic artist Inoue Manji (Japanese, b. 1929). Minimalistic in form, the vase is pure white with a very subtle blue hue and of a perfect nearly sphere form. It has a small mouth opening and a short foot ring. It is signed on the base and comes with a titled original wood storage tomobako box as well as a printed note on the artist as shown.
A living national treasure in Japan, Manji was born in 1929. He started his career in Arita ware but
became specialized in white porcelain called Hakuji, using a transparent glaze over white clay (Kaolin) and firing at a high temperature. Inoue demands perfection in shape and is known to be unforgiving, rejecting even a millimeter of distortion. He states that, “Hakuji expresses itself through form rather than added decoration,” and his pieces exemplify this truth through refined curves and purely rounded forms rather than distracting surface decor. Simple lines belie their power as viewers’ eyes are lost in the infinite depth of pure white peaks and valleys. The smooth, soft, silky surface of these delicately hardened forms characterizes the unmatched beauty of Manji’s work.
(From Onishi Gallery)