Plate 2010

This is a Plate by Hasu Yoshitaka, made with stoneware. I love the way that Yoshitaka lets the materials do their thing. The colors feel organic, like moss or maybe a stormy sky, all playing out on this small, intimate scale. The surface is where it gets interesting. You can see the texture of the clay, that it's not trying to be anything other than what it is; earth. And the way the glaze pools and crackles, especially around that dark grey patch, gives it so much depth. It's as if you're looking at a tiny landscape, complete with its own weather patterns and geological history. That dark area, like a raincloud hovering over a field, really anchors the whole piece. It reminds me a bit of the painter Joan Mitchell's approach to color and form, where the painting is just as much about feeling as it is about seeing. It’s this kind of openness that makes art an ongoing conversation, always shifting and evolving.