• Magazine
  • About us
  • Submissions
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Ceramics Now
Newsletter
  • News
  • Exhibitions
  • Artists
  • Ceramic art
  • Editorial
    • Interviews
    • Articles
  • Resources
    • Ceramics job board
    • Calendar of events 2023
    • Ceramic artists list
    • Pottery classes
  • Magazine
Ceramics Now
  • News
  • Exhibitions
  • Artists
  • Ceramic art
  • Editorial
    • Interviews
    • Articles
  • Resources
    • Ceramics job board
    • Calendar of events 2023
    • Ceramic artists list
    • Pottery classes
  • Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Ceramics Now
Home Archive

Interview with Kawabata Kentaro – Japanese ceramic artist

October 2, 2011
in Archive, Interviews
Interview with Kawabata Kentaro – Japanese ceramic artist

Kawabata Kentaro Japanese Ceramics - Contemporary Ceramics Magazine

You were among the first contemporary Japanese artists to combine ceramics and glass when constructing a new work. How did you start to connect these materials?

I wanted to to extract the ingredients from the glaze and embed them into the clay. For example, I tried to use fragments of smashed glass bottles, feldspar, silica stone and beach sand in my white porcelain works, and I did that by mixing these fragments with the glaze. I also wanted to observe the chemical reactions between those materials and the clear glaze after the firing. Throughout these experiences, I was fascinated about the harmony of the different kinds of translucency between glass and white porcelain. I also love touching the unfired clay with bits of glass inserted into it, and I want to get the similar feeling after the firing. I want to constantly develop my work, so I am still looking for new glazes and new kinds of glass as well as interesting materials that go well with my style of work.

What is your present project and how do you make the pieces? Tell us more about the process.

Now I am trying to construct a few sculptures using slip casting. After making several different kinds of plaster casts, I connect them. I use my original technique in my newest works, which consists of applying small clay balls and sand on the surface.

image

Do you make your pieces functional, or just decorative? What do you think about the functionality of a ceramic work?

I create a lot of functional pieces. If we enjoy and appreciate functional pieces, it would be fair to say that in some way they are also decorative.

Memories bind more to functional pieces, so I want to continue creating them. Even if one of my pieces brokes, I enjoy observing it because I feel like I could get a glimpse of personal history inside of it. It doesn’t make sense for me to categorize my pieces as functional or decorative ones.

Where do you get your inspiration from and what motivates you?

I am attracted by a lot of the seams and shapes of Chinese characters. I also tend to cut in my mind the vertical images I had seen and which were piled-up inside my brain. It’s like eating a layered cake. I sometimes write down sketches of life in my notebook. Those images give me the needed inspiration, but I always try to mix the past and present emotions onto my pieces. I feel motivated by the beautiful people around me.

Tell us about your plans – future exhibitions.ย ย 

I look forward to having my solo exhibition at KEIKO Gallery in May 2012.
I would like to show my pieces outside Japan more often, and I really want to challenge myself to do a show focused on green ceramics.

Kawabata Kentaro Japanese Ceramics - Ceramics Magazine

Untitled, 2009, Glazed clay. Photo by Taku Saiki – View his works


KAWABATA Kentaro begins forming his sculptural and functional pieces from a flat sheet of porcelain clay into which he embeds pieces of colored glass. When fired, the melted glass creates subtle colorations and patterns on the matte glazed surfaces similar to brush strokes of watercolors on paper. The unique qualities of his work are also enhanced by his improvisational approach to forms and surface textures which might express sensations and feelings of his everyday lifeโ€”a momentary seasonal influence or even some small pleasure or indignity.

KAWABATA began exhibiting his works composed of porcelain and melted glass shortly after graduation from the Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center in 2000. Although this work received an enthusiastic response, many people were initially confused by this odd fusion of porcelain clay and glass. To some, the contorted vessel forms with streaks and splashes of melted red glass reminded them of spattered blood. However, these were the pieces that many collectors remembered long after seeing them and those that have put KAWABATA in the forefront of promising young Japanese ceramists.

By Vasi Hirdo.
Published in Ceramics Now Magazine Issue 1.

Visit Keiko Galleryโ€™s website.

Keiko Gallery feature - Japanese artists

Tags: ArtCeramicCeramic artCeramic artistCeramicsCeramics magazineCeramics Now MagazineClaycontemporaryContemporary ceramicsfeaturedGlassInterviewsIssue OneJapanese artistJapanese ceramicsKawabata KentaroKeiko Gallery Interviews

Related Posts

The Stratford Gallery
Interviews

A gallery dedicated to Japanese ceramics. Interview with the co-founder of The Stratford Gallery

December 20, 2022
Interview with Dr. Wendy Gers, the curator of Handle with Care
Interviews

Interview with Dr. Wendy Gers, the curator of Handle with Care, on view at the Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics

December 20, 2022
Irit Rosenberg Ceramics
Articles

Creating New Life: Recycle. Upcycle. Repurpose. An interview with Irit Rosenberg

August 11, 2022
Mary Fox My Life as a Potter - Ceramics
Interviews

“My Life as a Potter.” An interview with Mary Fox

August 30, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *





Join the discussion

Follow Ceramics Now on Instagram

  • Junpei Hiraoka is today
  • John Shea: standard, abstract is on view at HB381 Gallery, New York

๐Ÿ“ View the photo gallery & read more on www.CeramicsNow.org

@hb381gallery

#ceramicsnow #ceramics #ceramicart #ceramic #contemporaryceramics #exhibition #artexhibition #ceramicexhibition #newyorkarts #newyorkartscene ##nyarts #nyartscene #๋„์ž๊ธฐ #ceramique #keramik #seramik #keramiek #ceramiche #ceramica #contemporaryart #artgram #ceramicsofinstagram
  • George Metropoulos McCauley: Woodfired / Oxidation / MultiFired opens today at Plinth Gallery, Denver

๐Ÿ“ View the photo gallery & read more on www.CeramicsNow.org

@plinthgallery

#ceramicsnow #ceramics #ceramicart #ceramic #contemporaryceramics #exhibition #artexhibition #ceramicexhibition #denverarts #denverartscene #้™ถ่Šธ #๋„์ž๊ธฐ #ceramique #keramik #seramik #keramiek #ceramiche #ceramica #contemporaryart #artgram #ceramicsofinstagram
  • Ulrica Trulsson: From Snow to Sand is on view at Sabbia Gallery, Sydney

๐Ÿ“ View the photo gallery & read more on www.CeramicsNow.org

@sabbiagallery @ulricatrulsson

#ceramicsnow #ceramics #ceramicart #ceramic #contemporaryceramics #exhibition #artexhibition #ceramicexhibition #sydneyarts #sydneyartscene #้™ถ่Šธ #๋„์ž๊ธฐ #ceramique #keramik #seramik #keramiek #ceramiche #ceramica #contemporaryart #artgram #ceramicsofinstagram
  • Mendy Arp is today
  • Ashwini Bhat & Forrest Gander: In Your Arms I
  • Jennifer Ramsay is today
  • Elina Titane is today
  • Kadri Pรคrnamets: The Choreography of Water is on view at Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams

๐Ÿ“ View the photo gallery & read more on www.CeramicsNow.org

@ferrincontemporary

#ceramicsnow #ceramics #ceramicart #ceramic #contemporaryceramics #exhibition #artexhibition #ceramicexhibition #northadamsarts #northadamsartscene #้™ถ่Šธ #๋„์ž๊ธฐ #ceramique #keramik #seramik #keramiek #ceramiche #ceramica #contemporaryart #artgram #ceramicsofinstagram
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn
Ceramics Now

Ceramics Now is a leading independent art publication specialized in contemporary ceramics. Since 2010, we promote and document contemporary ceramic art and empower artists working with ceramics.

Pages

  • Magazine
  • About us
  • Submissions
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Subscribe to Ceramics Now Weekly

Join a fantastic community of over 12,000 readers who receive this premium newsletter dedicated to contemporary ceramics.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

ยฉ 2010-2023 Ceramics Now - Inspiring the next generation of ceramic artists.

  • News
  • Exhibitions
  • Artists
  • Ceramic art
  • Editorial
    • Interviews
    • Articles
  • Resources
    • Ceramics job board
    • Calendar of events 2023
    • Pottery classes
    • Ceramic artists list
  • Magazine
    • About us
    • Submissions
    • Advertise
    • Contact
  • Sign up for our newsletter
No Result
View All Result

ยฉ 2010-2023 Ceramics Now - Inspiring the next generation of ceramic artists.

escort bayanescort bayan