Water container (mizusashi) c. 1990

This Water container was made by Furutani Michio, sometime before 2000. It’s the kind of piece that looks like it made itself, maybe from some primordial sludge bubbling away in the earth. It’s got this almost accidental, alchemical feel. The surface is rough, like tree bark or dried mud, with these streaks and stains running down the sides, pooling at the bottom. I’m drawn to the way the glaze seems to have dripped and settled, creating a topographical map of chance. There's a dark, almost glossy lid which gives a strange contrast with the rest of the piece. There’s a tension here, a conversation between control and surrender, that reminds me a bit of Lucio Fontana’s ceramics, but with an added layer of wabi-sabi. In the end, the water container invites us to contemplate the beauty of imperfection, the poetry of process, and the magic that happens when we let go.