Monumental Colorful Vase ー加古 勝己 “彩陶”

This monumental vessel by Kako Katsumi created in 2022 presents itself with a striking sense of compression and contained force, its broad, shield-like body rising from a narrow base into a subtly arched crest. Here the energy is drawn upward in colorful wavering bands and held within the flattened plane of the form. These vertically flowing bands of iron red, chalk white, carbon black, and muted gold oscillate with a rhythm that feels natural, like streamers in the wind. These bands do not merely decorate; they structure the object. The surface is densely worked, the pigments and slips built up into a geological crust. Incised and impressed textures catch the light unevenly, giving each band a distinct tactile identity. Kako’s surface is entirely abstract, its meaning residing in rhythm, repetition, and material presence rather than depiction. It is quite large at 54.5 x 18.5 x 44.5 cm comes with a signed wooden placard titled Saito (colored clay) and is in perfect condition, directly from the artist.

Due to size the cost of shipping will be accrued separately.

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.