Sugiura Yasuyoshi Exhibit at Musee Tomo, Tokyo

One of Japan's most distinctive--and fragile--potters is Sugiura Yasuyoshi. His ceramic flowers are exquisite works of art and also quite delicate, thus the fragility line. A wonderful look at recent Sugiura botanical creations is on view at the equally exquisite Musee Tomo in Tokyo. As always for an exhibition at the Musee Tomo, lighting works to highlight the beauty of the displays. From the catalog, "As a student at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Sugiura Yasuyoshi (b.1949) was inspired by a professor who said, "A ceramic is a stone." His starting point was unique in that be began making stones out of ceramic. Later on, his motif evolved from 'stone' to 'rock' and he has been presenting large-scale installations both indoors and outdoors. Another representative work by Sugiura would be 'Natural History of Ceramics," a series he has been working on since 2000. He observes lilies, camellias, and chestnuts through a loupe and reproduces them several times larger than their actual size showing the detailed structure of the plant as is. They convey the sense of wonder and awe the artist experiences in the making of nature. The delicate yet forceful impression we get from the works is no doubt the product of the images he has acquired by looking intently at the plants day by day as they take root in the earth despite being weatherworn. The exhibition galleries have been turned into an exquisite botanical garden full of ceramic rocks, flowers, and nuts with an emanating presence. We hope you will enjoy the plants created having undergone the baptism of flames" OK, not the best intro yet it should give you a sense of Sugiura's vision; if not then please do a search on www.e-yakimono.net to learn more about Sugiura and his unique vision. The exhibition features works made this year and thus is not a retrospective. It would have been nice to see some of his past works as well as more variety; 'the wall room' was a bit lonely. Sugiura Yasuyoshi at Musee Tomo until July 23, 2006. More information about the museum also available on e-y net; in Japanese here: http://www.musee-tomo.or.jp/index.html
All photos copyrighted to Robert Yellin. If needed for outside publication please contact Robert; no use of these photos is permitted without permission.