Japan House Los Angeles Introduces KESHIKI: The Landscape Within

JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles is pleased to announce the debut of its latest exhibition, KESHIKI: The Landscape Within, featuring contemporary Japanese ceramics from the Brodfuehrer collection, now through June 9.

The natural imperfections that emerge on ceramic vessels during the firing process pools of glaze, scorch markings, cracks and indentations referred to as the keshiki ( landscapes ) of a piece have been celebrated by Japanese artists and collectors as adding new beauty, depth, and value to the work since the sixteenth century. Local Southern Californian collector Gordon Brodfuehrer has built an exceptional collection that includes styles and techniques from kilns across Japan. The complimentary KESHIKI: The Landscape Within exhibition curated by Hollis Goodall from Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents over sixty contemporary ceramic pieces from the Brodfuehrer collection, inviting visitors to join this pioneering collector in his journey around Japan.

While pottery-making culture in Japan is one of the oldest in the world going back to roughly 10,000 BCE, the history of the six most renowned kiln sites Bizen, Seto, Tokoname, Shigaraki, Tanba, and Echizen can be traced back to at least the 12th or 13th centuries. The works in this exhibition are arranged in approximate geographical order of their origins in Japan, from west to east, and indicate how local clay characteristics and ancient traditions continue to assert themselves in contemporary ceramic design. For example, J ji Yamashita's contemporary vases and jars utilize the Bizen technique of wrapping rice straw from local agricultural fields around vessels in order to produce warm orange striations against the clay. Yasuhiro Kohara uses the rough texture of Shigaraki clay, with feldspar stones bursting from its skin, as well as traditional glazing techniques, to achieve his eclectic forms.

Ceramic art is an integral part of everyday life in Japan. While Western collectors enjoy larger and bolder ceramics for display in their homes, Japanese collectors tend to appreciate ceramics in a functional way for tea ceremony or informal tea, flower arrangement, incense, drinking sake, or as part of the dining experience. In Japan, the popularization of the tea ceremony in the sixteenth century as a means of reinforcing social ties between elites led to a great demand for domestically-produced ceramics. As part of the ceremony, guests are expected to admire the keshiki of the bowl, remarking on the beautiful finish or shape, and contrast between the green color of the tea and the warm clay tones, before they drink.

This exhibition has been curated by Hollis Goodall from Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Goodall also curated a show in 2006 at LACMA, which opened Brodfuehrer's eyes to contemporary Japanese ceramics and inspired him to begin collecting. To highlight Brodfuehrer's personal perspective, Goodall has included a series of nature-themed photographs by ceramics dealer and photographer Taijir It , a friend of Brodfuehrer's who has traveled with him on collection trips throughout Japan. The photographs of natural landscapes offer the viewer the chance to contemplate on the deep connection to nature that is part of many ceramicists' practice, and that so inspires Brodfuehrer.

Journeying through the exhibition, each visitor will draw from his or her different experiences in life to discover different keshiki on the ceramics, which can be documented and shared through smartphone. Guests are invited to follow Gordon Brodfuehrer's sensibilities as a collector, and share his appreciation for the relationship to nature, craftsmanship, and personal creativity that abound in the world of contemporary Japanese ceramics.