AFFINITY OF FORMS

Since the mid-19th century, Western artists have looked to Japanese aesthetics as a source of inspiration for pottery innovations. The process gained traction with the emergence the Mingei movement in Japan in the 1920s. Mingei promoted the idea that beauty is found in everyday, handmade objects created by nameless craftsmen, a concept that resonated with Western potters who were pushing back against the tide of mass production. While contemporary art trends have sometimes challenged Mingei and the related concept of wabi-sabi, their core tenets of expressing beauty in the modest and imperfect continues to be a part of the discourse in Western ceramics today. The works showcased in this gallery are eloquent testimonies to this enduring legacy.

Margaret Curtis (UK). Altered bowl with thick Shino glaze on a black clay body, stoneware, wood-fired, H 9 cm x W 17 cm.

An “altered bowl” by British ceramicist artist, Margaret Curtis, adorned with thick, cracked Shino glaze on a black clay body. Curtis completed an arts residency with Living National Treasure, Miwa Kyusetsu, and like the work of master Miwa, her own works feature irregular shapes and a groggy appearance that speaks to the beauty of imperfection. Her vessels are widely collected and exhibited in leading museums worldwide.

Flora Fabris. Torn vessel (2025), hard-carved stoneware, wood-ash glaze and copper carbonate, H 7 cm x W 8.3 cm.

The work of UK-based ceramicist, Flora Fabris is rooted the natural beauty of her original home town in the French Pyrenees, as well as her affinity to Japanese pottery traditions. This “torn vessel,” glazed in a taupe hue with streaks of pink, is an attempt to convey the essence of the Japanese concept called ma - the space in between, where much of life’s beauty and mysteries takes shape.

Ido Feber (Israeli). Hexagonal lidded container, Suzu-ware, hand-built and wood-fired, H 10 cm x W 14 cm. Suzu is a city in Ishikawa Prefecture, known for iron-rich pottery since the 12th century.

This hexagonal container is made using iron-rich clay from Suzu, a town in Japan’s northern Ishikawa Prefecture, known for pottery that dates to the end of the Heian period. The surface of the container is covered with a mixture of grayish-black and terracotta red hues, the former from high-temperature wood-firing and the latter from reduction firing.

Born in Israel, Ido Feber studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and apprenticed under Matsuzaki Ken in Mahiko. He is currently the co-owner of Sentomo, a collective producing handmade ceramics and lacquerware.

Elena Renker (New Zealand). Incense box (kogo), wood fired stoneware with Shino glaze, Kurinuki technique, H 8.5 cm x W 9 cm.

A beautifully sculpted kogo (incense container) for the tea ceremony, made using New Zealand clay and fired with thick layers of Shino glaze. Born in Germany, Elena Renker discovered pottery in the late 1990s. An acclaimed ceramist, she is now based in Auckland, New Zealand where she makes functional and sculptural pieces imbued with the wabi-sabi concept of beauty.

Wheel-thrown chawan with bold abstract design, stoneware, fired to 1250C, H 7.8 cm x W 11 cm.

A small wheel-thrown tea bowl made by a potter from Serbia, featuring a speckled matt white surface and bold painted brush strokes that recall Japanese calligraphy.

Cup with Chun (Jun) glaze, wheel-thrown stoneware, wood-fired, H 8.6 cm x W 9.3 cm.

This Jun glazed tea cup exudes the "beauty in simplicity" ideal that has been prized by Japanese tea masters from the earliest times. The wabi-sabi asthestic of the cup is further enhanced by the artist’s finger marks that peek through the glaze.

Jun and celadon glazes are ancient Chinese glazes known for their beautiful colors and opalescent or translucent textures. Jun is distinguished by its bluish-purple hues, but adding small amounts iron to the glaze can lead to a pale-greyish tone as seen in this cup.

Elena Renker (New Zealand). Chawan with Shino glaze, iron oxide painting, wood-fired, H 9 cm x W 11.5 cm.

A hand-carved Shino tea bowl by Elena Renker built using three types of clay blended with sand and grog, then painted with iron slip before firing in a wood kiln. The fiery orange hues are due to iron impurities in the clay interacting with the kiln’s heat and oxygen during reduction firing.

Born in Germany, Elena Renker discovered pottery in the late 1990s. She is now based in Auckland, New Zealand where she specializes in making Shino functional pottery with deep affinity to the Japanese Chawan tradition.

Michal Koczor (Poland). Chawan with Shino glaze, wheel-thrown, wood fired stoneware, H 6.8 cm x W 11 cm.

A tea bowl featuring milky white to orange surface hues and prominent “crawling” glaze effects arising from glaze shrinkage during firing. While considered a defect in other glazes, crawling is a prized and integral part of Shino's unique beauty.

Nick Ng (Singapore). Small chawan, stoneware, Kurinuki technique, H 7 cm x W 9 cm.

A small chamfered chawan made by hollowing a block of clay and hand carving the surface until the desired shape emerges, each scratch and soft stroke of the chisel becoming a mark of the artist and a celebration of the beauty of imperfection. Nick Ng is a potter based in Singapore.

Simon Manoha (France). Black chawan, wheel-thrown stoneware, mineral-blended glaze, H 9 cm x W 13 cm.

A black conical tea bowl with a coarse surface made using groggy clay blended with mineral deposits. Raw clay peeks out from the parts of the jet black surface, giving the bowl a modern, yet rustic look.

Don Ricardo (Australia). White stoneware vessel, local wild clay, fired in a charcoal kiln, H 13 cm x W 15 cm.

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California, USA.

This vase is carved from a single block of clay, then fired after applying a greyish-shite glaze over the craggy surface, with parts of the base exposed to reveal the orange-color raw clay beneath. Its rugged appearance and color resembles the dramatic landscape of a jagged mountain like El Capitan, the iconic granite monolith in Yosemite National Park, USA.

Ben Gufford (US). Black Chawan, the surface brushed with black slip and the interior with traditional Japanese shige black glaze, H 9.5 cm x W 12 cm.

With its irregular shape, intense black glaze and a distinctive surface texture of spurs and deeply pinched grooves, this chawan exudes a hulking presence, challenging traditional ideas of what defines a tea bowl. Ben Gufford is a young ceramicist currently based in North Carolina.

Tim Andrews (UK). White Raku vessel, stoneware, Raku-style firing, H 17 cm x W 9 cm.

A serene bottle/vase by Tim Andrew who is deeply influenced by the Japanese wabi-sabi tradition of finding beauty in simplicity. As a young man, he made a trip to Bernard Leach’s 90th birthday retrospective exhibition at the V&A in London, which led to the epiphany that clay could be transformed into wonderful objects that can somehow touch the soul. An apprenticeship with Bernard’s son, David Leach followed and then a further two years at the Dartington Pottery before Tim set up his own studio in East Devon. His works are held in public and private collections, including the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Donna Karan, New York and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Ashton Keen (US). Bottle or vase, unglazed soda-fired, iron painting, H 22 cm x W 10 cm.

Simply decorated with a single stalk of flower, this tall vase by American potter, Ashton Keen is a quiet embodiment of beauty in simplicity. Its design could have been inspired by Tatsuzo Shimaoka (1919-2007), a Mingei potter and a Living National Treasure of Japan whose works often feature sylized floral motifs.

Robin Walden (UK). Chun-glazed stem vase, porcelain, altered and decorated with blushes of lilac and copper red glaze vapor, H 9.5 cm x W 9.5 cm.

Robin Walden’s many years of working in Japan left an indelible mark on him with respect to its culture, and ceramics in particular. He is presently a full-time potter in the Cotsworlds, UK, making pottery using self-mixed glazes and wood ash as the main glaze ingredients.

Charlie Olson (US). Chawan, porcelain, oxidation fired to cone 10, H 8 cm x W 10 cm.

The gentle beauty of Charlie Olson’s work draws viewers with their hypnotic glazes into a meditative realm as if offering glimpses into the unknown. Olson makes functional and semi-functional pieces using fine-grained porcelain with spare forms, carefully controlling the rate at which the kiln cools to achieve unique glaze effects that appear to magically float one over another like a Mark Rothko painting. This isn’t coincidental; Olson draws inspirations from abstract painters such as Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee as well as the quiet aesthetics of Japanese wabi-sabi ceramics.

Peter Sparrey (UK). Tea bowl, stoneware, cobalt and Chun glaze, H 8 cmx W 11 cm.

A wheel thrown tea bowl by British potter, Peter Sparrey featuring a cobalt blue and Chun greyish crackle glaze. Peter Sparrey was born in 1967 in Worcestershire. He first discovered clay at an early age, a fascination that led to a long career as a ceramic artist. His works are finely thrown pieces using stoneware and porcelain clay bodies decorated with traditional high-fired Asian glazes including Chun (Jun), Tenmoku, celadon and copper reds.

Spasa (Serbia). Chawan with geometric design, wheel-thrown stoneware, engobes and glazes, H 8.5 cm x W 10 cm.

A contemporary chawan by Serbian artist, Spasa, featuring incised geometric patterns glazed in yellow, red and black tones. The effect is strikingly similar to the multi-colored salt-glazed tea bowls of the Japanese ceramicist, Ajiki Hiro (b. 1948).

Robert Fornell (US). Sake cup, stoneware, glaze, H 6.5 cm x W 7 cm.

Shaped like a modern sculpture, this minimalist sake cup is emblematic of the work of American ceramic artist, Robert Fornell who spent eight years in Japan learning pottery, an experience which helped infused in his craft an unmistakable Japanese aesthetic.

Bernard Irwin (UK). Elliptical Vase, stoneware with geometric design, H 13 cm x W 12 cm.

An avant-garde elliptical vase by Bernard Irwin with a surface decoration of geometric shapes glazed in biege, brown and black and accented with fine scratch marks. The pastiche appearance of the vase recalls the works of the contemporary Japanese potter, Maeda Masahiro. Born in 1953, Bernard Irvin is a multidisciplinary artist whose career spans painting, sculpture and ceramics. He currently works from his studio in Cornwall, UK.

Marcio Matthos (UK). Standing Form, hand built stoneware sculpture, blue glaze with brushed decorations, H 24 xm x W 20 cm.

Exuberant, yet restrained, this sculptural vase by the Brazilian-born ceramic artist, Marcio Matthos resembles the work of the contemporary Japanese ceramicist, Morino Hiroaki Taimei. Trained in Goldsmith College in London, Matthos works with stoneware, porcelain and paper clay. His hand-built sculptures such as this piece are sprayed glazed and feature brushed decorations that emphasize surface textures and movement.

Alix Favre and Gregory Lemaire (France). Brique Vase, white sandstone, engraved and colored decoration in black and blue, H 26 cm x W 10.5 cm.

A sculptural vessel taking the shape of a milk carton with surface decorations of vibrant, organic motifs in a palette of white, blue and black. This piece is a collaborative work by two French ceramic artists: Alix Favre and Gregory Lemaire. In form and pattern, it resembles some of the works of the Japanese avant-garde ceramist, Morino Hiroaki Taimei.

Enriquetta Cepeda (Sweden). Egg form, black clay, unglazed, gold decoration, H 12 cm x W 9 cm.

Based in Stockholm, Enriqueta Cepeda's work is inspired by different ancient cultures, including the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. Here, she uses the egg form to express the concept of life cycle which is inextricably linked with the reality of impermanence. The simple gold decoration, set against a sea of black, is a gesture of light and beauty inspite of everything.

Adrian Tan (Singapore). Bud vase, stoneware, white glaze, pebble, H 7.5 cm x W 8.5 cm.

With its milky white glaze and slightly irregular rim, this bud vase exudes a Zen-like elegance which is enhanced by a black pebble perched at the mouth. Adrian Tan is a ceramic artist based in Singapore.

Roos van de Velde (Netherlands). Elongated plate, porcelain, L 14 cm x W 10 cm.

Nature is the thread that runs through the work of Belgian ceramicist, Roos van de Velde (b. 1962). Her functional wares feature irregular shapes found in nature as well as the imperfections arising from the firing process. Her work shares commonality with the sculptural art of some contemporary Japanese artists such as Ryoichi Suzuki (stone) and Suehara Fukami (ceramic). This pod-shaped porcelain plate is from her series, "Perfect Imperfection" shown here mounted on a black stand.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.