Kazuhito Kawai’s Exuberant Ceramic Sculptures Evoke Ice Cream and Summer Nostalgia — Colossal
Art
#ceramic #clay #Kazuhito Kawai #sculpture
June 12, 2023
Kate Moth
« Chunking Express » (2023). All images © Kazuhito Kawai, shared with permission
Covered with innumerable colored glazes, Kazuhito KawaiThe ceramic sculptures bubble and ooze like mounds of vibrant ice cream or sorbet melting. The vase, one of the most essential forms of ceramics, provides a starting point for the Japanese artist Ibaraki. While he playfully hints at functionality, each piece seems to have a life of its own, sprouting delicate curls reminiscent of icing and details like straws or umbrellas.
« There are three to four types of blended clay and four to five different types of glazes, each with countless color variations, » Kawai tells Colossal. It emphasizes raucous colors and a smorgasbord of textures, and a piece can take three to four months to complete.
After the long process of shaping and layering, firing a sculpture in the kiln becomes a symbolic transformation that Kawai likens to a change in itself. Attracted to clay for its inherent malleability and the physical interaction required between creator and material, he shares that through these works « there is a sense of my inner self being brought to light ». As he builds the surfaces with layers of glaze, the pieces become like portraits of his emotions, blending nostalgia, youthful joy and hope for him.
Find out more about Kawai website AND Instagram.
« Can you keep a secret? » (2022)
Detail of “Can you keep a secret?”
“IDC” (2023)
Detail of “IDC”
“Aliens” (2021)
“Kasama Yaki” (2021)
« Ladder of the Moment » (2022)
“SEFORA” (2022)
“Mikyuki Takayasu” (2021)
#ceramic #clay #Kazuhito Kawai #sculpture
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