Important Porcelain Basin, Exhibited ー福島 寛子 “呉須絵青文大鉢”

A massive spiraling basin in blue and white by master of indigo Fukushima Hiroko exhibited at the 60^th Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Crafts Exhibition in 2013 and enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Gosu-e Aomon O-hachi. It is 41.5 x 45.5 x 22 cm (16-1/2 x 18 x 9 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. According to Hiroko: The clay itself is like a canvas for glazing. The Kasuri pattern is expressed by repeatedly applying and scraping away three different types of Gosu. The depth of the glaze and inflections of the shades of indigo recall the colors and softness of textiles.

Fukushima Hiroko was born in Kanagawa prefecture and graduated the Joshi Bijutsu Daigaku Art College Western Painting Department in 1967.  Her interest moved to ceramics in 1987, and after nearly a decade of practice and working in other kilns, she opened established her own kiln in 1996.  That year her work was awarded at the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition.  The following year would find her work accepted into the National Traditional Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogei-ten) and again awarded at the Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition. In 1999 she would be for the first time accepted into and subsequently awarded at the Asahi Togeiten Ceramics Exhibition.  In both 2000 and 2002 she would garner prizes at the Seto Sometsuke Public Exhibition specializing in Blue and White ceramics, showing the respect her work had already gained among her peers.  In 2007 her work was prized at the Nihon Shinsaku Kogei ten, and in 2010 was presented for public viewing at the MOA Museum of Art in Shizuoka. In 2013 she would begin exhibiting with the Tobi-ten of the Nihon Togei Biutsu Kyokai. Her work was purchased by the Imperial Household Agency in 2020. Following the death of her husband, and no longer able to carry the heavy pieces she had made alone, she retired from the ceramic world in 2023.