My first impression of Kayoko’s ceramics was that of a double take.  At a first glance, the simple ceramics look like carved rocks but how could they be if the label is calling them ceramics?  Then on closer inspection one quickly adjusts the eye with the rational to appreciate beautiful contemporary ceramics made by a gifted artist.

Based in Shiga, Japan, Hoshino Kayoko (b.1949) mixes different clays and kneads them into one body and like a skilled surgeon cuts elegant wedges of clay in which the outer surfaces are pressed with straw or metal instruments to create a textured skin. In some instances, silver is added to the softly polished interior surfaces to give it a reflective quality.

These modern vessels have serious visual gravitas and would look absolutely phenomenal sitting alone on the edge of a console table or as a single artpiece to one side of a circular hall table.  Minimalism at it’s finest!