SUZUKI Sansei 鈴木三成 b. 1936
H33 × W 19 x D 19 cm
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A dedicated student of Chinese Longquan wares and Southern Song celadon, the contemporary potter Suzuki Sansei (b. 1936) honed his mastery of celadon glazes, skillfully exploring its full glazing potential.
Suzuki Sansei is among a select group of contemporary Japanese ceramicists, alongside celebrated potters like Nakashima Hiroshi and Kawase Shinobu, who have studied and revived the complex techniques of Southern Song Guan ware. Suzuki trained under the celebrated Kawamura Seizan 河村 蜻山 (b. 1890) at his Kamakura Kiln, before going on to build his own kiln in Kanagawa prefecture. The reflection of bronze archaic archetypes is palpable in his forms: squared geometric shoulders and ribbed bodies with flared lip finishings amalgamate forms drawn from a deep study of Chinese bronze archetypes.
Song dynasty potters discovered that when glaze and clay shrink at different rates during firing, the resulting tension produces fine network of crackles. In making such ceramics, Song artisans would often apply multiple layers of glaze, using a series of controlled firings (including a final high-temperature firing followed by a carefully managed cooling phase) to achieve luminous surfaces veined with a coveted superficial crackle.
In the case of Guan ware, the veined craqueleur in the glaze matrix were often accentuated by the use of dark clay bodies or the staining or painting of cracks to heighten surface contrast and visual appeal.
In 2014, the Tokyo National Museum held an exhibition titled "Guan Ware Celadon cherished by Japanese," traces the history of research and taste into Guan celadon ware by Japanese scholars and potters. Read more about the exhibition here.