Oribe sake cup

This is an Oribe sake cup by Toru Ichikawa, who studied under Ryuichi Kakurezaki and made a sensational debut. While one is immediately drawn to its highly original, avant-garde design, holding it in your hands reveals the tremendous passion he pours into expressing the beauty of clay as a material. Achieving such beautiful curves and sharp edges requires an exhaustive amount of time and meticulous effort, built upon a deep understanding of the clay's properties; these pieces are born from a process of relentlessly forging the earth, much like a master swordsmith. This process creates rough, wild cracks and textures on the surface that human hands could never intentionally replicate, resulting in a magnificent harmony with the color and volume of the glazes, each specially formulated to suit the specific nature of the clay. Because one can fully appreciate the sculptural beauty of the clay body's ridges and curves, the Oribe glaze, which appears to pulse and race across the surface, is further accentuated, giving the work even greater depth. Signed wooden box to follow (please allow some time for shipping).
Diameter 5.9cm × Diameter 5.3cm × Height 7.3cm Toru Ichikawa was born in Tokyo. He began his apprenticeship under Ryuichi Kakurezaki in June 2011 and established his own studio in Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture, in January 2015.