Aso Kojima Pottery Exhibition

Aso Kojima

December 13, 2014 – December 26, 2014
Reception : December 13, 2014 18:00〜20:00

Live Talk

Date:Sunday December 21, 2014 13:00〜
Venue:Kaikai Kiki Gallery
Cost of Admission : Free

Message From Takashi Murakami

Aso Kojima is a ceramicist with the energy and momentum to blast away all the lingering ambiguity that has arisen in 2014 in the periphery of Contemporary Everyday Ceramics.

Looking at his current works, I can only think of positive things to say. He is fast, his works are affordable, and he is highly skilled; I believe that he is entering that period of peak radiance that all great artists encounter. Such blinding light!!!

What’s more, he’s young and has high aspirations. His works are pleasant to look at, wonderful to use, and age very well as you do so. Nothing whatsoever to complain about. The very embodiment of a sound product!

Since November, we have been receiving new works for this show every week and they are all superb; it’s enough to bring tears to my eyes. Let me see if I can find an analogy or two… imagine a celestial beauty smiling at you in a bathing suit; one look and you go weak in the knees… Or for you ladies, perhaps it’s like a young, handsome guy with glistening pecs and abs flashing his straight white teeth just for you! I swear you’ll melt! That’s the kind of quality we’re talking about!!

I’m telling you the brilliance is blinding!!!

However. It’s perhaps none of my business, but the physical beauty of his works is so obvious, I have to wonder what’s going to happen when he starts to age.
Kojima-san, the price of your works is, frankly, too low. I understand that affordability is itself your very philosophy and that’s part of what I respect, what’s commendable about you. But then again I can’t help but worry about whether you will manage to go on in this way. When your kids are older, can you handle the cost of their education? What will you do if you fall ill? Will you be able to navigate these things while continuing to live frugally?

Yanagi Sōetsu’s Mingei (Folk Art) concept–that an artist achieves purity and transparency by thoroughly pursuing anonymity, being a roadside pebble, and prioritizing the criticial point of view –is what Kojima-san, in his late thirties, is actively pursuing. It’s also the pressing issue that all Contemporary Everyday Ceramic artists are facing; if they raise their prices, their daily needs will become discernible in their works and that, in turn, will weaken their conceptual framework… The fact that Kojima-san daringly prioritizes concept and sticks to his prices is, honestly, adding to the grand scale of his person and his work alike.

Oh well… such silly concerns of mine may prove unfounded, as Kojima-san is an extraordinary artist who can wield his arms all he wants, like Picasso.

And his work at the moment is nothing but superb. So in a sense, there’s no need for me to be such an alarmist. What I’m trying to say is that his current output is too beautiful to bear!

As for kilns, I understand that he has created and destroyed over twenty so far, so that means he has also destroyed and rebuilt his way as an artist more than twenty times in his life. And I suppose he will continue to experiment and find new paths forward.

Ah, my mind runs wild to the point of obsession… Sorry…
As a contemporary artist, I can’t help but wonder whether or not a concept can be upheld through the entirety of the artist’s life. For me, this is moe! Context moe.

Here I would like to note that I met Kojima-san through Matsumoto-san’s gallery Utsuwa Note. It’s been three years since that encounter and the much awaited realization of this show. Let us bask together in the blessings of the gods of art!!!

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