Orange glaze covers the deep basin forming this Chawan tea bowl by Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kaki-yu Chawan. The walls rise from a relatively narrow foot in a continuous outward sweep before terminating in a fine, slightly irregular rim. There is an attractive tension between the rather substantial volume of the bowl and the delicacy of that edge. The high, pale foot also visually lifts the mass of red glaze away from the ground. This work explores the quieter possibilities of the iron-rich glaze that became one of the defining materials of his career. It is 14.8 cm (almost 6 inches) diameter, 7.5 cm (3 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
The beauty of this Kaki-yū Chawan lies not in spectacular transformation but in sustained attention to subtle difference. Within what initially appears to be a single field of red, Shimizu finds variations of color, depth and movement. The bowl demonstrates that his investigation of iron glaze could proceed through restraint as readily as through dramatic kiln effects: sometimes discovery lay not in adding another element, but in seeing how much could be found within one.
Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) was born in Kyoto the son of a ceramic dealer. Discarding the family business, he apprenticed in plastic arts under future Living National Treasure Ishiguro Munemaro. His work retains some principal elements of his teachers style while incorporating an understated elegance and avant-garde spirit of challenge uncommon for his time. He was first exhibited at the Nitten in 1951, receiving numerous awards there since. He also took the gold medal at the Prague International Exhibition, and was at the Brussels World Exposition. He is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto Museum of Modern art, Clark Center and the Freer Gallery among many others.
