DECONSTRUCTED BEAUTY: Porcelains by Takeuchi Kouzo

Sensing a specific quality of beauty in the basic square and rectangular footprints of ancient Mayan ruins, Takeuchi Kouzo returned to the urban cityscapes of Japan and began to prevision a comparable hidden beauty that might potentially emerge as these modern structures deteriorate over time. As he explored the idea in his studio, he began to create complex forms composed of multiple, hollow rectangular tubes of white porcelain. However, it was the serendipity of a kiln accident that forged his signature sculptural style.

Having completed a large piece composed of multiple pristine square tubes, when he unloaded his kiln, one piece had broken during the firing. The broken piece remained in a corner of his studio for a period of time and continued to engage his interest. One day when his mother came to the studio and told him that the broken piece appealed to her he realized he shared her opinion. Subsequently, he began to consciously break fired pieces with a hammer, very carefully creating broken patterns that pleased him. However, he realized the carefully executed damage was uninteresting because it looked artificial and manipulated. When he began to deconstruct the fired pieces more dramatically and with less caution, almost carelessly, he was at last able to reveal the beauty of the underlying structure of the whole.

The energy of Takeuchi’s sculptural work comes essentially from the juxtaposition of the contrasting static clean lines and the rough fragmentations of those lines and the play of light and shadow on the glazed white porcelain.

Not unlike his sculptural works, Takeuchi’s functional porcelains also express his dominant interest in primary form, although in relationship to their function, and the subtle play of light and shadow on the glazed white porcelain. While the forms belong to what is now a universal lexicon for table ware, the real satisfaction of Takeuchi’s pieces derive from subtle exaggerations, or stretching, in the circumference and height of cups and bowls in relation to size.

Born in Hyogo Prefecture, where he now lives and works, Takeuchi Kouzo graduated from Osaka University of Arts in 2001 with a major in ceramics. He then graduated from Tajimi Municipal Ceramic Design Institute in Gift Prefecture in 2003.

For his solo exhibition at Keiko Gallery, and his first in the U.S., he will exhibit not only his signature sculptural works, but also his functional ceramics. On Tuesday, October 9th, he will present a workshop at the Office of the Arts Ceramic Program at Harvard University.

William Thrasher