A wall-mounted kakehana by Kako Katsumi, dating from 2025, titled Fūkoku (wind-carved). Formed as a compact circular ring, the vessel projects subtly from the wall, its low profile softly faceted, smooth and continuous. The surface is animated by an interlocking pattern of curvilinear motifs in iron-red, ochre yellow, and muted green. These shapes flow across the circumference in a continuous rhythm, their edges defined by fine carved lines that lend clarity without rigidity. The palette, though earthy, is unusually vivid within Kako’s practice, the colors settling into the textured clay with a matte, mineral quality. A small aperture along the upper edge serves as the functional opening, allowing for the insertion of a single stem. When mounted, the vessel operates as both container and frame: the circular void gathers the wall surface within it, while the emerging flower introduces a vertical counterpoint to the horizontal continuity of the ring. The relationship is one of quiet tension. Measuring 25 cm (10 inches) in diameter and 5.8 cm in depth, Fūkoku offers a refined variation on the kakehana form, where carved pattern and color extend the language of the vessel into the realm of wall-based composition.
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.
