258. SUZUKI Gorō 鈴木五郎 , 1941- . E-Oribe Tō Tōgan 絵織部陶冬瓜 (Painted Oribe-ware ceramic winter melon), sculpture, 2003.
“Oribe keeps developing. It never stayed in one place. So I create whatever comes to my mind, one after another. I never stop. I feel like I’m playing with clay. The playfulness makes one’s life interesting.” --Suzuki Goro
Born in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, in 1941, the prolific Suzuki Gorō is known particularly for his Oribe-ware, as well as for Shino and ki-Seto pieces. Stylistically playful, Suzuki’s experiments with color and form result in works both sculptural and functional. His art is experimental and showcases a youthful and quirky approach to Mino and Seto ceramics. He has brought a fresh and innovative perspective to Oribe-ware. His works are held by, among others, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum in New York City, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
A visit to a daughter living in Los Angeles inspired this piece and its drawings of buildings and a car.
White clay. Glazed in Oribe green, cream, and dark brown; one unglazed spot near the base. Weight: 2.3 kg (5.1 lb). Height: 27 cm (10-5/8 in). Width: 18.5 cm (7-1/4 in).
This is a rough cylinder with a rounded and flattened top and bottom. It sits on a flat base, with a central depression. The character 五 go (the first character’s in Suzuki’s given name) was incised into the base. The body is roughly circular in cross-section, though with many bumps and dents. The widest point is about 7.5 cm (3 in) up from the base. The diameter gradually narrows to the shoulders to about 14 cm (5-1/2 in) some 25 cm (10 in) above the base. The top has a central depression, filled with a “stem” about 5 cm (2 in) long. The surface is smooth to the touch.
For a piece of this size, it is remarkably light in weight. Suzuki must have trimmed it when it had partially dried until the walls were quite thin. There is no obvious escape hole for the air inside the pot, a necessity for the kiln. The stem has a central hole, but it extends only a short distance inward. Perhaps the vent was filled in after the firing.
Except for the three oval picture areas, the pot is covered in the Oribe green glaze. This glaze is of varying thicknesses. The direction of the drips implies the piece lay on its side as this glaze was applied, although there is one long prominent vertical drip. The picture areas were covered with the Oribe cream glaze. The oval shapes are reminiscent of the picture areas on highly painted Ming and Qing vases. The pictures are drawn in the Oribe brown glaze. The first shows a boxy car with jagged shapes above it (mountains?).The second has a light bulb beneath a metal shade, with a rotating off-on switch, hanging from an electrical cord. Diagonal lines suggest rays of light. A brown line outlines the edges of this oval. The image is reminiscent of the motif of persimmons suspended by cords from the eaves of a house, a common image on classical Oribe pieces (see item no. 7 for an example). The third oval contains drawings of two skyscrapers with a helicopter. Similar images can be found on other pieces by Suzuki.
This piece has all the playfulness and whimsy of classical Oribe-ware, with the updated images containing nods to classical styles of decoration.
This came in a wooden box inscribed by Suzuki in two lines: 絵織部陶冬瓜 E-Oribe Tō Tōgan / X五 (painted Oribe-ware ceramic winter melon / sigil Go). The sigil is indecipherable. Interestingly, Suzuki did not stamp the box with his seal. The same signature and the lack of a seal are found on online examples of boxes inscribed by Suzuki.
Purchased
in August 2024 from Dai Ichi Arts in New York City, which had it directly from
the artist (invoice, shipping documents, postcard from seller, small
brochure/catalogue of Suzuki’s works).
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