Keshiki are the landscapes on Japanese ceramics and KESHIKI The Landscape Within: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Brodfuehrer Collection is the exhibit at Japan House, Hollywood and Highland, 6801 Hollywood Boulevard till June 20. It is a spectacular exhibit with beautiful pieces chosen by Gordon Brodfuehrer. Last night there was a panel discussion with Hollis Goodall of LACMA who curated the exhibit, Yukiya Izumita one of the ceramists who flew in from Japan, Shoko Aono who works at her mother’s Ippodo Gallery in New York, and Gordon Brodfuehrer the collector from San Diego.
Izumita had a wonderful translator. His first words were how Los Angeles was so dry—he came from Iwate, Tohoku in North East Japan where it is cold and damp. He explained how he creates his pieces from paper. Goodall explained that he used paper made from the mulberry bush, that it was stronger than rice paper. And he explained how he glazed his pieces—wiping color into the cracks, putting more clay on top, his colors are browns and brown with lots of white. He did not come from a family of potters but he sensed that it was in his blood.
Goodall’s father was a professor in Asian Studies at the University of Texas where she graduated, completing her studies at Kansas University as they have a strong Asian department. The President of Japan House recommends flying to Japan with ANA (All Nippon Airlines) or JAL (Japan Airlines). A lady who asked a question goes to Japan frequently and she buys one item of clothing each visit from Issey Miyake. Shoko Aono was wearing the most stylish peach pink coat that she bought in New York. The translator was American and he lived in Japan until he was 15. He is making a documentary on his father who plays a Japanese instrument and who still lives in Japan. And I met Linda who was in my UCLA drawing class—she was taught by Wayne Thibaud at UC Davis, and Hollis Goodall introduced her to Japan House.
A ceramic pot at KESHIKI The Landscape Within