Vase No. 22

Clay With White Slip & Black Glaze

Tokyo-based Kansai Noguchi Studio, founded in 2016, produces striking, handmade Japanese ceramic vases in a limited palette inspired by the Japanese pre-historic Jomon period. Kansai Noguchi’s creative journey began on Shikano Island, Japan, where he was born. In high school he started playing music, and had a career as a band member and solo singer and songwriter. On a trip to New York, after careful consideration, he decided to shift away from music and move into visual art. Back in Japan, he studied ceramics, trained with sculptor Takuya Yoshida and ceramicist Ikuko Hiyoshi, and bought his own throw wheel and kiln. Working now with clay, glazes and brushes, Noguchi produces vases in a variety of shapes, sizes and textures that meld his music and visual aesthetics; he strives for his ceramics to possess sounds of music and an authentic “Japanese-ness.”