Took a break this morning and headed up to The Sculpture Center in Cleveland to see the work of Japanese ceramist Yasuhisa Kohyama. The show is in its final days at the center and it was now or never to see this incredible work. "The work of Kohyama, 73 years old, is an expressive and bold bridge between the ancient techniques of Sueki and anagama firing and contemporary Japanese abstract ceramics." The surface is unglazed
but the the variety of surface textures, colors, and sheens are beautiful, giving each piece an amazing amount of depth. Even though the pieces are thick-walled, there is no sense of them being awkward or cumbersome. In fact, they almost seem to float off the display pedestals. There is a certain richness to the surface that can only be produced by this type wood firing. Kohyama has achieved the perfect balance between form and surface.
