I just put up a profile of Koukenju Kiln and Maeda Keisuke on the Village of the Secret Kilns site. He's a brilliant ceramicist, a fascinating character, and a friend. Here's an excerpt...I’m sure that many young aspiring Japanese ceramicists would look at Maeda Keisuke and say that he has nothing left to prove in terms of his skill. Now in his early sixties, Maeda Keisuke could sit back, and make a living teaching and merely reproducing his most popular works. But that is not his calling.
Maeda Keisuke likes to say “from now,” as if the previous three decades of excellence in ceramics were mere preparation for the artistic journey that lies ahead of him. His dreams still inspire him; his spirituality still compels him; and they infuse his craft with artistry rare amongst his peers.
I am fond of saying on this site that Okawachiyama pottery has a timeless beauty, it does, and I feel this is particularly true of Maeda Keisuke’s work. It is rooted in the craft of Nabeshima ceramics production started centuries ago, it is made by the hands of a 21st-century man, but these are the hands of a man who looks to the future, striving to find that "next level." He believes his best work is yet to come. From now. The past, present and future - a student, a teacher, and a master.
At the time of writin
g this profile, Maeda Keisuke is working on an underglaze painting technique that most contemporary ceramicists ignore because it is so notoriously difficult. That’s as much I can reveal to you right now, but expect to find more spectacular work from Maeda Keisuke appearing in our shop in the future. The Village of the Secret Kilns Pottery Shop is proud to sell the present and future works of Maeda Keisuke.
Dave
