Seed of Soil - Vase V4

Like a little bottle gourd drifting gently on the surface of the river, the vase with its asymmetrical fluid contours contrasted with rich grainy texture, are the creations of Aoki Hiroshi.

To him, every single work that he makes is an evolving dialogue between the soil, the fire, time and himself.  Instead of creating pieces that change over time in appearance to achieve the aged texture, he makes work that he engraves the expression of time into it.

Using his own concoction of wild clay composition with varying amount of iron content, he peels off the glaze from firing, revealing the inner clay layer just beneath the glaze that is not directly exposed to the fire. Although this is unstable process,  it gives rise to complex textural formation that defines the expressive aesthetics of his ceramics. Each piece is always an exploration of the unknown, not the outcome of glaze alone but what lies beneath, the naked layer of clay.

The vase is a talking piece by itself with its imperfect form but if you leave a single seasonal flower or wild plant, the expression of the vase becomes deeper, returning the plant to its origins, the soil.