“Between Clay and Hand”Satoru Hoshino

Sep. 25 - Oct. 11, 2015

Opening Reception: Sat, Sep 26, 5pm - 7pm
The artist will be at the gallery on Sep 25, 26, 27, Oct 11. 

　SOKYO Gallery will hold an exhibition of Satoru Hoshino’s works. Based from the foothills of Mt. Horai, on the western side of Lake Biwa, Hoshino is a well-received artist who has presented his works both in Japan and around the globe.
　Hoshino was first recognized as an abstract ceramic artist on the basis of his early smoke-fired work, “Surface Strata and Depth.” Due to torrential downpour and flooding in 1986, he was forced to evacuate his home following which his creative activities were interrupted. Subsequently, he ceased creating avant-garde works and embarked on a creative journey that involved clay and fire. Especially, in his series, “Appeared Figure,” he abandoned all tools and related techniques and displayed a more direct and primitive approach by only touching the clay by hand. This represents the beginning of the fundamental principle of designing ceramics with clay and hand. Furthermore, due to his desire to create a tall standing figure with only his hands and soft clay, he conceived the idea of a spiral structure and rediscovered that the structure aligned with the universal principles—his fundamental principle of ceramics. The series titled “Beginning Form–Spiral” clearly embodies this structure and process.
　On a sunny afternoon toward the end of winter, Hoshino climbed a snowy mountain and watched the snow melt from the heat of the sun. At that time, he formulated his third principle of ceramics wherein clay transforms into ceramic by “melting” of the particles with intense heat and glaze. This was the inspiration behind his series titled “Spring Snow.”
　The highlight of the exhibition will include six objects from the “West Area, Heat Haze” series and four works from the “Spring Snow, Mountain Air” series. Based on his first principle of ceramics in which clay figures are created only with the hands, the former series of six objects displays his third principle of ceramics where the transformation of clay is subsequently melted, burned, condensed, and dried by heat, while the latter series of four objects represents his third principle of ceramics where melted glaze is used.
　After being devastated by nature’s fury, Hoshino presented his approach of creating works of art that embody the relationship between nature and humans merely using clay and his hands. We truly believe that his works will facilitate introspection about the meaning of living and creating.

Installation View