A softly swelling, ovoid vessel by Kako Katsumi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Fukoku dating from 2024. With a gently constricted shoulder and an irregular, slightly pinched mouth, its silhouette leans toward the organic rather than the strictly symmetrical. The surface is fully enveloped in a dense, interlocking arabesque of scrolling, vegetal motifs, incised and inlaid to create a continuous, rhythmic field. The pattern wraps the body without clear beginning or end, evoking the image of the flames from which the piece was born. Coloration is warm and earthen, dominated by deep iron reds and burnt sienna, interspersed with ochre, muted yellow, and soft green passages. The matte, granular surface suggests slip application and carving, with darkened outlines settling into the incised lines, giving the design clarity and depth. The interior, by contrast, is a deep, lustrous black, creating a striking visual counterpoint. The overall effect is one of layered skin—rich, tactile, and painterly—where surface and form are inseparable. It is 25.5 x 23.3 x 31 cm (10 x 9-1/4 x 12-1/2 inches) and is in perfect condition, directly from the artist.
Kako Katsumi was born in Kyoto in 1965, and graduated the ceramics department of Saga Art College in 1986. He was selected for the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition, the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition and the Kyoten held at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art in 1988, followed in 1989 by the National Ceramic Art Exhibition and Mino International Ceramics Exhibition. He has since exhibited and or been selected/ awarded many times at these prestigious events. He established his kiln in Nishiwaki City in 1991. In 1994 he worked in Melbourne. Australia, and would create a second kiln in 2001. In 2004 he would be awarded the Prize of Excellence at the Tanabe Museum of Art Modern Tea Forms exhibition. In 2005 he established his current kiln in Sasayama, Hyogo prefecture. In 2009 his work was featured at the Kikuchi Biennale Exhibition and the following year was awarded at the 4th Contemporary Tea Bowls Exhibition, and in 2011 was selected for the influential Paramita Ceramic Exhibition. 2013 saw him in New York, and 2014 at the Museum of Ceramic Art in Hyogo (Kobe). Held in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art among others.
