YASUHISA KOHYAMA
YASUHISA KOHYAMA 13 June - 12 July 2012 An exhibition of new work by Yashuisa Kohyama to coincide with the publication of ‘YASUHISA KOHYAMA The Art of Ceramics’
The texts within this catalogue are extracts taken from the book, for which we would like to thank each of the authors: Susan Jefferies, Michael R. Cunningham, Yoshiaki Inui and Jack Lenor Larsen as well as the publisher, ARNOLDSCHE, for their collective generosity and assistance.
Opposite: Kaze, 2012 32 x 30 x 10 cm (YK-0007)
Front cover: Kaze, 2012 16.5 x 47.5 x 9.7 cm (YK-0014)
Erskine, Hall & Coe Ltd 15 Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street London W1S 4SP +44 (0) 20 7491 1706 mail@erskinehallcoe.com www.erskinehallcoe.com
“With the start-up of agriculture, all civilizations compounded clay to form adobe or tamped-earth walls, or fired clay as bricks and tiles. So most clay forms, great and small, are built up through adding clay coils or slabs or by raising thick walls of clay to achieve thinner, higher ones: all these through additive processes. But not Yasuhisa Kohyama, whose newer work is achieved through subtraction. Rather than adding clay or height, he carves with a piano wire the distinctive Shigaraki clay just as a sculptor chips away wood or marble to reveal a desired form. If the reductive process is to them “as old as the hills,” it feels new to modern ceramics – a breakthrough and, indeed, a newborn art form. Yet, somehow these modestly scaled but powerful liths not only feel substantial, “right,” permanent, but somehow they are familiar.” Jack Lenor Larsen
Bachi, 2011 50 x 20.4 x 19.4 cm (YK-0011)
This page: Homura, 2011 23 x 11 x 24 cm (YK-0016)
Opposite: Kaze, 2012 35.5 x 38 x 9 cm (YK-0009)
“Yasuhisa Kohyama is a ceramic artist with a profound interest in the past. He has studied historical Japanese ceramics and admires the power of these pieces. He wants to capture this legacy, intuitively, and draw upon their spirit in a way that is not alien to his own character and work. Kohyama has taken two ancient traditions, woodfiring and hand-building, and has devoted the last fifty-five years of his career to perfecting their use. As well, his embrace of contemporary life is obvious in his bold and poetic use of line, mass, and form; he is fully aware of the sculptural possibilities available to him. A love of nature and a life-long interest in sculpture and architecture have also inspired his work.� Susan Jefferies
Homura, 2012 51 x 36.5 x 15 cm (YK-0010)
Suemono, 2010 30 x 22 x 14 cm (YK-0021)
Suemono, 2012 22.8 x 18.1 x 10.2 cm (YK-0022)
Bachi, 2012 31 x 16.7 x 12.5 cm (YK-0019)
“His work is made exclusively of Shigaraki clay, which is a little rough as it contains small stones and is unglazed. Its sandy surface invites people to touch it. We can best appreciate the originality of Kohyama’s work by both handling and looking at it. Because his work is never fragile, the rough clay adds to the totality of his creations. All his work is fired at a very high temperature, 1,250 degrees centigrade, and they come out physically hard and looking like stone. In some cases they emerge a beautiful brown color tinged with red, which gives them a very warm quality. By using these materials, Kohyama’s work gives the impression of complexity. The combination of intensity, strength, and warmth gives expression to new works.” Yoshiaki Inui
This page: Bachi, 2012 21 x 17.5 x 12 cm (YK-0017)
Opposite: Homura, 2011 37.2 x 34 x 13.2 cm (YK-0008)
“The observer of Kohyama Yasuhisa’s oeuvre ... will notice quickly its cohesive formal and textural vocabulary. Without referring to chronologies of production, it is apparent that an impressive range of ceramic shapes fills the landscape of his making. And their surfaces are remarkable.” Michael R. Cunningham
Suemono, 2012 30 x 23.8 x 20 cm (YK-0018)
Suemono, 2012 15 x 17 x 12 cm (YK-0029)
Suemono, 2012 13.8 x 16 x 11.5 cm (YK-0023)
Suemono, 2010 20 x 20 x 12 cm (YK-0026)
“Yasuhisa Kohyama knows his mind and his roots. His work is of its time yet timeless in a world of vast change. These quiet pieces provide an oasis for one’s thoughts. I think Kohyama’s work is about finding a renewed respect for beauty within a modernistic framework based on natural forms. This is combined with a generous bow to the Japanese historical antecedents that have informed his love of clay.” Susan Jefferies
Danpen, 2012 34 x 16 x 16 cm (YK-0012)
Suemono, 2012 18.4 x 20.5 x 9.5 cm (YK-0024)
Suemono, 2012 14.5 x 10.5 x 15.5 cm (YK-0028)
Suemono, 2012 12 x 13.5 x 9 cm (YK-0027)
This page: Danpen, 2012 23.5 x 23 x 14.7 cm (YK-0013)
Opposite, from left to right: Homura, 2011 23 x 11 x 24 cm (YK-0016)
Homura, 2011 16.5 x 17.4 x 9 cm (YK-0015)
This page from left to right: Bachi, 2012 31 x 16.7 x 12.5 cm (YK-0019)
Bachi, 2012 21 x 17.5 x 12 cm (YK-0017)
Back cover: Sai, 2012 30.5 x 25 x 8.5 cm (YK-0020)
An exhibition to coincide with the publication of: Susan Jefferies / Michael R. Cunningham / Yoshiaki Inui / Jack Lenor Larsen YASUHISA KOHYAMA The Art of Ceramics 112 pages and 96 images, 20 x 28 cm, Hardcover ISBN 978-3-89790-362-3 ARNOLDSCHE Art Publishers, Stuttgart / New York http://www.arnoldsche.com/
All works are anagama fired stoneware The exhibition will be fully illustrated on our website www.erskinehallcoe.com/exhibitions/yasuhisa-kohyama-2012 photography by Michael Harvey printed at The Lavenham Press design by fivefourandahalf Š Erskine, Hall & Coe Ltd, 2012
Gallery Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 10am-6pm Saturdays (during exhibitions only): 10am-6pm