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274 - Michio Koinuma (1936–2021) Wall vase Ash-glazed stoneware La…
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Estimate €800 - €1,500
Sale commission
Description
Michio Koinuma (1936–2021) Wall vase Ash-glazed stoneware Label bearing the artist’s stamp on the base. Date of creation: circa 1970 H19 W8.5 D6 cm Accompanied by its paulownia box signed by the artist. Biography: Michio Koinuma, born in Tokyo, initially studied economics before devoting himself to ceramics at the age of thirty-three. Inspired by archaeology as well as by Hamada Shōji and Kamoda Shōji, he settled in Mashiko, where he opened his own kiln in 1970. His work is internationally recognised and was celebrated in 2022 at the exhibition ‘Koinuma Michio and His Age’ at the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art. Koinuma creates his works without a potter’s wheel, favouring hand-building and coil-building techniques. This method lends his forms a strong physicality. His pieces, fashioned from dark clay, often evoke the density of eroded stone or corroded metal. Even when glazed, they convey a sense of mass and solidity, inviting the viewer to experience their archaic, earthy and timeless character. Archaeological memory lies at the heart of his surfaces, which sometimes seem to be relics unearthed from forgotten ruins, marked by the passage of time. Yet their forms remain profoundly modern, at times almost otherworldly in their geometry. This tension between the ancient and the contemporary is one of the defining features of his work. His inspiration draws heavily on the remains of ancient civilisations: animal sculptures, fantastical objects, vases reminiscent of archaic Chinese funerary bronzes, or even clay figures from the Jōmon period discovered in funerary contexts in Japan. Each creation thus defies simple classification, moving between different time periods and cultural spaces.
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About the sale Sculptural furniture and functional art
Auction location
Auction time 06/25/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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