Yoko Ozawa V cup with crack eucalyptus ash glaze
Dimensions: Ø 13cm x H 8.5cm
Materials: Stoneware Clay with Eucalyptus Ash Glaze
Method: Hand Thrown
Care: Fully functional and water-tight. Hand wash. While the glaze is water-tight, it is easily stained - avoid tea, coffee, sauces, etc.
As each piece is hand made, glazes may vary
Description:
This precious, masterfully weighted hand-thrown stoneware V cup combines an elegantly simple, poetic form with an exceptionally intricate surface. Its streamlined stemmed silhouette is balanced perfectly with its natural, often generously applied webbing of white crackle glaze, creating patterning unique to each piece and a rough, organic texture that enhances the tactile nature of the vessel when cupped in the hand. Combined with clay from South Australia, Ozawa uses her own glaze containing yellow box eucalyptus ash gathered from her fireplace, giving the work a soft, warm tone and delicate mustard-colour speckles.
Ozawa’s body of work displays a pervading exploration of the Japanese notion of yohaku, meaning blank space. Translated into her ceramic works, yohaku defines the space and stillness surrounding objects. For Ozawa, the notion of the space inside her works holds possibility and meaning, not simply ‘nothingness’. In this way, they engage in a dialogue with the concept of yohaku, resulting in an enhanced apprehension of the world and our own mind. Yoko Ozawa’s work is heavily informed by a sustained interest in the natural world; seasonal transitions, temperature, light, shadow, fog, rain and snow. The simplistic but harmonious shapes of this collection are realised in subtle tones and intricate crackle glazes which draw on the textures and tones from her upbringing in the Japanese countryside and the Australian landscape she is now surrounded by.
About the Artist:
Melbourne-based artist Yoko Ozawa began practising ceramics in 2003, whilst working as a graphic designer in Tokyo. Born in Japan, Ozawa formally trained in both Fine Art, with a focus on Japanese painting, at Musashino University, Tokyo and Graphic Design at The Japan Design College. Upon relocation to Australia in 2012, Ozawa established her own studio. She has since exhibited around the world, with solo exhibitions and numerous group shows throughout Australia, Japan and England.
