Massive Ceramic Jar Tsubo by Japanese Potter Tsujimura Yui

A massive and magnificent ceramic Tsubo jar by Japanese potter Tsujimura Yui (1975-). Inspired by the techniques and aesthetics of the early medieval Sue ware, the artist hand builds an impressive voluminous oviform, irregular by intention, from a combination clay from both Shigaraki and Iga, coarse by nature and rich in feldspar. Fired on their sides horizontally, the surface of the thick wall tsubo is covered with streaks and drips of natural ash glazes in shades of green and blue, forming an abstract and mesmerizing pattern that resembles geothermal earth activity. Additional ashes are blown during the firing to accentuate the textures. Most recognizably, there are many circular marks scattered on the surface of his archaic looking vessels. That is resulted from using stacked tea bowls to prevent the conjoining of the vessels. After the firing, the stacked vessels are chipped away, leaving behind those circular impression, as well as deep pools of glaze which gather where they were placed.
Born in 1975, Tsujimura Yui is the first son of the contemporary ceramic artist Tsujimura Shiro (b. 1947). His work is based firmly on archaic tradition but captures the viewers with a new contemporary energy.
The jar comes with a fitted wood storage box (tomobako), signed and sealed Yui and inscribed Shizen yu O-tsubo (Large jar with natural ash glaze).
For a similar storage jar in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), accession number 2010.563.