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FRANCOIS EPIN ART & DESIGN CONSULTING

158 - Michio Koinuma (1936–2021)
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Estimate €600 - €1,000
Sale commission
Description
Michio Koinuma (1936–2021) Wall vase Ash-glazed stoneware Label bearing the artist’s stamp on the base. Date of creation: c. 1970 H 19 W 8.5 D 6 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 Shōji Hamada and Shōji Kamoda, 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 techniques of hand-building and coil-building. 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 her surfaces, which sometimes appear 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 characteristics of her 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 contexts.
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About the sale Sculptural furniture and functional art
Auction location
Auction time 09/27/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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