Monday, November 27, 2017

Anagama Firing


Pre-firing

Post-firing

The October firing of Chris Gustin's anagam went very well, and the unloading revealed exceptional results. Here are some of my pieces from this firing...

Chawan

Chawan

Tea Caddy (Chaire)

Yunomi

Yunomi

Yunomi

Guinomi

Guinomi

Guinomi

Guinomi

Tokkuri

Vase

Vase

































Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Spectra

These two pieces will be in "Spectra: A Survey of American Contemporary Wood Fired Ceramics" at Morean Center for Clay. Curated by Seth Charles, this invitational exhibition will run December 5th, 2017 through January 30th, 2018. Exhibiting artists are : Peter Callas, Seth Charles, Linda Christianson, Trevor Dunn, Perry Haas, Stephen Heywood, Mitch Iburg, Bob Kirk, Lucien Koonce, Heidi Kreitchet, George McCauley, Dan Murphy, Ted Neal, Patrick Rademaker, Stephen Robison, Tim Rowan, Akira Satake, Matt Schiemann, Hitomi Shibata, Takuro Shibata, Lars Voltz, and Tara Wilson.

Vase

Yunomi

Best In Show

This wood fired tea bowl was awarded "Best in Show" in Shino Splendor, District Clay Gallery, Washington, DC, an exhibition dedicated to showing the diversity of Shino glazes.  It will travel to the Japanese Information and Cultural Center, Embassy of Japan, Washington, DC, for a short engagement, running October 31st - November 09th. Afterwards it will return to the District Clay Gallery until the show's closing on November 26th, 2017.

Chawan with Hobo Signs

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Honorable Mention

It is an honor to have been awarded an "Honorable Mention" for my chawan in the Workhouse Clay International 2017 exhibition. Given the incredible quality and diversity of work in this show, as well as knowing the extremely high aesthetics bar that juror Chris Gustin sets, I am very humbled. There were only five awards given (Best in Show, 1st Place, 2nd Place, and two Honorable Mentions), and its such a pleasure to have received one. This is the piece that was awarded, and was the only functional piece of the five...

Shizenyu Chawan


Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Artful Ambiance now online

The sake vessels exhibition I curated for Schaller Gallery, "Artful Ambiance: Contemporary Sake Vessels with Character", is now online for viewing and purchasing work. Every piece in this show is excellent!

http://www.schallergallery.com/exhibition/387/Artful-Ambiance-Contemporary-Sak-Vessels-with-Character

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Shino Splendor

This wood fired kurinuki tea bowl..."Chawan with Hobo Signs"... will be shown in "Shino Splendor", an exhibition showcasing the beauty and complexity of Shino glazes. It will be held at District Clay Gallery, located in Washington, DC, from October 27th through November 26th, 2017.

Chawan with Hobo Signs



Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Updates

I have had two site updates recently. My chawan page on Yakimoto has had a recent tea bowl added:
http://www.facebok.com/pg/Yakimono.ww/photos/?tab=album&album_id=651731088170372
and my page on Artaxis has been updated with current images:
 http://artaxis.org/lucien-koonce/

Monday, September 18, 2017

Exposure

It's always nice to get a bit of "exposure" in Ceramics Monthly magazine. This is from the October 2017 issue, page 14. My tea bowl (#1) was in the Workhouse Clay International.



Friday, September 8, 2017

Sake Vessels Show

On Friday, October 6th, Artful Ambience: Contemporary Sake Vessels with Character opens at Schaller Gallery, in St. Joseph, Michigan. This is an exhibition I curated and will include thirty four artists from eight countries. Here is a list of the participants:

USA
Joe Bruhin
Peter Callas
Robert Fornell
Ron Hand
Mitch Iburg
Lucien Koonce
Dick Lehman
Joe McCaffrey
Kristin Muller
Tim Rowan
Akira Satake
Jeff Shapiro
Mike Weber

New Zealand
Elena Renker
Aaron Scythe

Denmark                      
Anne Mette Hjortshoj

UK
Eddie Curtis
Margaret Curtis
Lisa Hammond
Phil Rogers

Spain
Encarna Soler Peris

Japan
John Dix
Tomoo Hamada
Asato Ikeda
Osamu Inayoshi
Shinsuke Iwami
Mami Kato                                                        
Ken Matsuzaki
Hiromi Matzukawa
Shozo Michikawa
Yoca Muta
Higashida Shigemasa

Sweden
David Louveau   

Korea
Lee Kanghyo 

These are the eight wood fired kurinuki sake vessels I will have in this exhibition, each with its own signed wooden box:

Guinomi

Guinomi

Guinomi

Guinomi

Guinomi

Tokkuri

Tokkuri

Tokkuri

This is the curatorial statement I wrote for the exhibition:

Sake, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice, has been one of Japan’s most ceremonious beverages since the 1300’s. Today, sake consumption is enjoying a global expansion, with breweries opening throughout North and South America, China, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Clay as a material for making utilitarian objects has been in existence since around 14,000 BC, beginning in East Asia, which includes China and Japan. The Japanese culture surrounding sake consumption developed vessels specifically for the pouring and drinking of this beverage. 

The terms guinomi (cups) and tokkuri (flasks) are most synonymous with shuki (sake ware) and the drinking of sake. The viewer, when looking at all the various styles of work, may ask, “What’s the criteria for a good sake vessel”? First and foremost, the bulk of an answer centers on how drawn one is to the aesthetics of a particular piece. Of course, one can’t escape competency by the maker regarding the weight, its balance when held and, in a cup, how it feels against the lips. None-the-less, the character of a vessel makes the overall experience unique and special, providing an artful ambience to any setting. Robert Yellin, considered to be one of the most noteworthy authorities on Japanese ceramic sake vessels, states: “Some things in life have a natural charm, the ability to draw you in and absorb your attention to the exclusion of all else, if even for only a few moments. The combination of good sake and . . . yakimono (pottery) is one such simple joy. Although there is much more to yakimono than only tokkuri (flasks) and guinomi (cups), the overlap of  this special niche of the pottery world with the world of sake buzzes with a magic all its own.”

This exhibition seeks to expose the viewer to a smattering of the ceramic sake vessels being made by contemporary artists throughout the world. While demonstrating the aesthetic diversity among sake ware being made today, the intent is showcasing the unity brought forth by a single passion: the love of making shuki. Kanpai!

- Lucien Koonce

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

20/30

I have been firing with Chris Gustin, in his anagama at South Dartmouth, MA, since 2009. This year represents the 20th anniversary of the kiln's construction. Also, this marks the 30th anniversary of Watershed, a program that Chris helped start. To honor these two milestones, an invitational exhibition is being held at Chris Gustin Gallery for the month of September, 2017:
20/30 : Gustin Anagama/Watershed Anniversary Exhibition
These are the pieces I have in this show...

Chawan

Guinomi

Guinomi



Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Nice Graphics

This is a very nice image showing my work in Companion Gallery's exhibition "Conductivity: The Many Faces of Copper in Ceramics". Copper is, indeed, a very interesting colorant. September 1st - 30th, 2017.


Sunday, August 13, 2017

Rocket Thing

I had the good fortune to have Mike Weber fire a few cups in July for me in his smaller wood kiln, known as "Rocket Thing". As with the June firing of Rocket Man, this smaller kiln is also fired solely with pine. Here are four pieces from this firing:

Guinomi

Guinomi

Guinomi

Guinomi

Rocket Thing