25751 Kumano Kurouemon Kumashi's pottery plate

Height: 6.3cm
Diameter 33.0cm


Kumano Kuroemon believes that the essence of "beauty" and "life" must be something that glimpses just a little like an illusion when it is at its peak. Based on this, one of the big questions he poses to himself as a ceramic artist is, "Where is the boundary between pottery and monsters?"
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, and each person with a wealth of experience, knowledge, and keen sensibility can only make a judgment based on their own perspective as an appreciator. However, what the artist Kumano aims for is the universality of "beauty."
The series of works created based on such questions and contemplations show a unique and overwhelming characteristic that combines the strong and conscious forms of flower vases, such as "Travel Pillow" and "Jizo", as well as "pots" and "tea bowls", with the natural forms obtained after the clay from Echizen is fired until it crumbles. The range of his work is so vague that descriptions such as rustic or dynamic seem vain, but he also carefully considers the use of his pieces as tableware and utensils, and each piece is full of life.
Watching Kumano Kuroemon, constantly seeking beauty while exploring the firing process itself, I am constantly reminded that this must be what it was like to be the "original potter" that we have unconsciously forgotten.