On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at 11.30 a.m. Joseph Gallivan interviews curator Carolyn Supinka about "Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen," an exhibition currently on display at Portland Japanese Garden's Pavilion Gallery.
This exceptional collection, on loan from David Sneider and Naomi Pollock, celebrates the ancient Japanese ceramic tradition of Bizen - one of Japan's six ancient kiln sites with a history spanning over 900 years.
The exhibition showcases works by master potters including Jun Isezaki and Ryūichi Kakurezaki, featuring both functional vessels and innovative sculptural pieces that highlight Bizen's distinctive unglazed, rustic aesthetic.
Supinka talks about how hot ash and tunneling winds mark the unglazed pots and cups inside the hillside kilns, how the clay chemistry gives a unique look to the region’s wares, and how artists in Bizen, a town that still maintains nearly 300 active kilns, continue to honor traditional techniques while pushing the boundaries of this historic craft.
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From the press release:
https://japanesegarden.org/events/earthen-elegance-the-ceramic-art-of-bi...
This February, Portland Japanese Garden is pleased to present Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen in the Pavilion Gallery. On loan from the Collection of David Sneider and Naomi Pollock, this exhibition celebrates contemporary ceramic art and vessels that preserve a time-honored collaboration of earth, fire, and the artist’s hand. Recognized as one of the Rokkoyō (六古窯) Six Ancient Kilns of Japan, Bizen is a ceramic center that has continued its unique form of pottery for over 900 years. Notable for their rustic, textured, and unglazed forms, the ceramics featured in Earthen Elegance reveal the depths of the Bizen pottery tradition. Today the town of Bizen hosts nearly 300 active kilns with artists continuing to use local materials and an ancient wood-firing process. Featuring work by many of Bizen’s leading potters including Jun Isezaki and Ryūichi Kakurezaki, the exhibition presents both functional vessels and innovative sculptural forms that expand the frontier of Bizen ware.
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Joseph Gallivan has been a reporter since 1990. He has covered music for the London Independent, Technology for the New York Post, and arts and culture for the Portland Tribune and for Axios Portland. He is the author of two novels, "Oi, Ref!" and "England All Over" which are available lightly used.