Vase by Kenta Anzai

This is a vase by Kenta Anzai. The tight neck toward the bottom is so sexy that I fall in love with it every morning when I look at it. Lacquerware? Ceramic? The impression may differ depending on the person who looks at it, both are correct. The surface is glossy black like lacquerware, but the main material is ceramic. The work is created by molding clay, fired in a kiln then repeatedly painting and polishing it with a mixture of clay and lacquer, repeated eight or ten times. Then fired it back again in a kiln, and the polishing process continues. Lacquer is a paint that gives strength, waterproofing, and decoration to the object it is applied to. Long before glaze was applied to pottery, it is said that humans were already applying lacquer to pottery to make it stronger during the Jomon period, but Mr. Anzai planned to fuse pottery and lacquer in the 21st century by mixing lacquer into the clay rather than applying it to the surface of the pottery. The jet-black color reflects the light not in a shiny way, but in a moist way, pushing forward the quiet luxury of the ceramic art world. To me, this is about as sexy as it gets.

Artist: Kenta Anzai
Date: 2024
Place of purchase: Jikonka Tokyo

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これは安齊賢太さんの花器。底にむけてキュッと締まったくびれが秀逸で、毎朝、眺めるたびに惚れ惚れしている。漆器？ 陶器？ と観る人によって印象が分かれるだろうが、どちらも正解かな。表面は漆器のように艶やかな黒だが、主な素材は陶器。粘土を成形し焼いたのち、土に漆を混ぜたものを塗っては磨くという作業を繰り返すことで生まれる作品だ。その回数は８回とも10回とも。その後、再度窯に入れて焼き付け、さらに磨き続ける。漆は、そもそも塗布する対象に強度や防水性、装飾を与える塗料。焼物に釉薬が施されるずっと前、例えば縄文時代に人類はすでに焼物に漆を塗って強度を出す「陶胎漆器」を作っていたとされるけれど、安齊さんは、焼物の表面に漆を塗るのではなく土に混ぜこんで、陶と漆の21世紀的融合を目論んだ。土と一体となった漆黒は、ピカッとではなくしっとりと光を反射し、陶芸界のクワイエットラグジュアリーを突き進む。静けさの中に滲み出るセクシーさがたまらない。

作り手：安齊賢太
年代：2024年
購入場所：Jikonka Tokyo