Japanese master ceramist Goro Suzuki works in the centuries-old Oribe style. His extraordinary vessels, stacked boxes and ceramic chairs will be on view at the Frank Lloyd Gallery during the month of February. Suzuki, who is known as one of the greatest living ceramists in Japan, presents twenty new works in a stunning and contemporary version of the Oribe style. Originally from the 17th century, Oribe ware features simple design motifs based on fanciful combinations of squares, rectangles and circles. The artist adds dipped or poured accents of a copper green flowing glaze.
The work of Goro Suzuki demonstrates a masterful manipulation of the material and an aesthetic of rustic simplicity. Long admired by Japanese collectors, the work is a favorite of artists and connoisseurs in the United States. Suzuki's career spans over forty years, from his early days as a production potter through his tremendous success as a revered master ceramist. He is reported to be the next in line to be designated as a Japanese "living treasure".
The Frank Lloyd Gallery has presented Suzuki's work twice in recent years. The first show, in 1998, featured rustic teapots, full of asymmetric architecture and brushed surface design. The second show, in 1999, concentrated on the tea ceremony, a highly refined Japanese ritual.
Goro Suzuki's work has been exhibited extensively in Japan, and is included in museum collections in that country as well as the United States. His work is represented in the Japanese Pavilion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hetsens Museum in Dusseldorf, Germany, and the Marer Collection at Scripps College in Claremont, California.