Born into one of the most important families making Bizen ware, Yuho Kaneshige is the nephew of Toyo Kaneshige, the first Living National Treasure for Bizen ceramics. After having studied sculpture at Musashino Art University, Yuho returned home to study with is father Sozan, himself a widely respect potter.

Kaneshige has spoken about his own spiritual practice and how it inspires his ceramics. True to the essence of Bizen, Kaneshige aims to let the native clay of the region speak in its purest form. Like all Bizen ware, the clay is left unglazed, allowing it to transform in the atmosphere of a wood-fired kiln. What results is perhaps the closest ceramics can come to Minimalism - it is all about clay and transformation by fire.

This cup appears brushed with a matte red slip inside and on the upper half, while the lower portion is brushed with a contrasting satin grey slip. The grey bleeds into the red so that the division between them glows. For me, Kaneshige’s soft transitions in colour share similar territory with Rothko’s colour field paintings. The colours in his clay seem to breathe, making us look twice.

Like all great minimalist artists, Kaneshige’s attention to every detail is evident. Even the wood box that accompanies this cup is of the best quality. The cover is delicately beveled and the cord is a soft green that matches the border on the paper CV. And Kaneshige’s calligraphy on the lid is written with a fine brush, in perfect proportion with the small box.

Comes with the signed, stamped, and titled wood box, stamped wrapping cloth, and CV.