Nagaoka Masami
Shigaraki Uzukumaru by Nagaoka Masami
A 30-minute drive south from our Mishima office brings us to Shuzenji, a small "onsen" hot-spring village snugged between the hills of the Izu Peninsula. In the hills of Shuzenji works the extremely talented Nagaoka Masami (1948- ). Nagaoka is not only well-versed in medieval Iga and Shigaraki wares, he has developed a creative and distinct style, as well as nurturing the skill of getting incredible firings from his anagama kiln. However, his talent had gone unnoticed for many years, as Nagaoka is still, to this day, extremely shy and humble. Such humility makes potters better, and Nagaoka has quickly gained both skill and acclaim with each firing. Kuroda Kusaomi of Shibuya Kuroda Toen adores his work, and just recently finished a Nagaoka Exhibition in Tokyo. This Shigaraki uzukumaru squatted jar is cut in a sharply fashionable, modern manner, while the seas of greens and blues from the firing just envelope the piece in color. You can almost feel the flames that intensely melted large amounts of wood ash upon its facade. Nagaoka gets dazzling displays of landscapes on his Shigaraki; the myriad colors of pink, purple, blues and greens, all mesh into a symphony of clay, ash, and fire. This squatted jar is unique in form with its faceted sides, and also exhibits Nagaoka's technique of imprinting patterns and stamps upon the clay body is a technique that at first instance looks modern 20th century artist, yet is actually a technique that Momoyama potters used on Iga wares long ago. Nagaoka has taken old traditions and has made them a venue for his own artistic self-expression. The patterns, along with his firing, exhibits Nagaoka's keen sensibilities. This vase is 17cm tall, 18cm wide, comes with a signed box and is in perfect condition.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
