Shuki: The Intimate Vessels of Sake

For nearly two years I have been working on curating an exhibition involving "shuki", or sake vessels. This coming November it will become a reality with the opening of "Shuki: The Intimate Vessels of Sake" at Vessels Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts. This is an exhibition of contemporary ceramic sake vessels from Japan and the United States, with seven Japanese artists and 16 American artists represented. Participating are Joe Bruhin, Peter Callas, James Coquia, John Dix, Judtih Duff, Ron Hand, Chuck Hindes, Osamu Inayoshi, Elizabeth Kendall, Dick Lehman, Hiromi Matsukawa, Shozo Michikawa, Richard Milgrim, Kristin Muller, Takao Okazaki, Shiro Otani, Jeff Shapiro, Roy Strassberg, Kato Takahiko, Mike Weber, Tsuruta Yoshihisa, and myself. One of the pieces I will be exhibiting is a sake cup titled, "Black Seto Guinomi". It was pulled from the kiln around 2400 degrees Fahrenheit and immediately immersed in water, a technique known as "hikidashi". The iron-rich Connecticut River clay slip that covered the piece turned black through this process. Here is a video showing this activity, which took place at Chris Gustin's anagama in South Dartmouth, MA.