The JAPAN ART Gallery in Frankfurt is showing new works in ceramics by Shozo Michikawa, who has since 2014 been a firm part of the gallery’s repertoire. Born in 1953 Michikawa, renowned for his sculptural pieces in the shape of open spirals, has been honored with numerous international awards. Examples of his work are to be found in museums throughout the world.
Michikawa’s greatest sources of inspiration is nature. The artist is thus very much following in the Japanese tradition, although his approach is entirely all his own. Michikawa has developed a very idiosyncratic technique, one which has become his trademark. For his work, he makes use of the centrifugal force of the potter’s wheel. In his work however, the outward appearance of his objects is not the product of a shaping hand but results exclusively from the pressure the respective cavity exerts. With this in mind, he makes slits in their outer walls. These burst open during the turning process. The artist exerts pressure on the walls to manipulate the degree to which these slits bulge out and gape open. This process often takes on a wild, dangerous quality. Yet the resulting shapes do not collapse during the turning process, something approaching a miracle and demonstrating Michikawa’s immense experience in handling his material.
In the latest exhibition, the titles of two groups of objects also reference the natural world – “Natural ash stratum” and “Vulkano Usu”. In the “Stratum” series, the artist references the geological principle of layered rock deposits, creating layers of clay in contrasting shades (often black and white). However, Michikawa’s way of working means that the layers frequently shift out of their horizontal alignment, collapsing into a chaotic state.
The reference to the “Vulkan Usu” has a biographical element to it. Michikawa grew up on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, at the foot of the Usu volcano. There, in his youth he experienced a volcanic eruption, an event that was to leave a lasting impression on him. This group of objects was fired in a wood-fired single-chamber furnace (anagama) and has come out black with surfaces that are matt and in part look charred. These surfaces might have a crust and boast shiny sections where the glaze has melted.
A third group of objects in the exhibition is made up of the white “kohiki” pieces. Here, Michikawa resorts to an old Korean technique that involves dipping the ceramics into white slurry (engobe) and then using a transparent glaze.
Michikawa’s sculptural works are open, lively entities with an animated feel. They invite the viewer to engage with them, with their traces of injury, of a struggle that has been overcome and of vital energy. Some of them still have something gestural, symbolic about them. They are reminiscent of nature, of rocky outcrops and of weathering. However, in their deformation, they simultaneously manifest deconstructivist traits.
Nora von Achenbach
