Lot 572: Fukami Sueharu (1947-) Kei (Landscape II) Heisei era (1989-2019), 2000

Fukami Sueharu (1947-)
Kei (Landscape II)Heisei era (1989-2019), 2000 Pressure-slip-cast porcelain with pale blue glaze, on a granite base, incised underglaze signature S. Fukami 6/8 65 1/4in (165.7cm) high (sculpture only), 71 1/4in (180.9cm) high overall

Provenance: Purchased Japonesque, Inc., San Francisco, March 5, 2003This sculpture is number six from an edition of eight.Born into an artisan family that owned and operated a factory producing porcelain tablewares, from an early age Fukami Sueharu learned the importance of pursuing the highest standards in the selection of his materials, the thoroughness of his preparations, and the quality of his finished work. In his late twenties he started to specialize in his trademark combination of porcelain with a luminous seihaku (bluish-white) glaze inspired by wares made at the Jingdezhen kiln complex in China's Jiangxi Province during the eleventh century, and from 1980 he started to explore the potential of high-pressure slip casting, which he employs to create large-scale works such as the present lot. By injecting liquid clay into a plaster mold under high pressure, using techniques whose details remain a closely guarded secret, he minimizes the risk of the finished work distorting during the firing process. Now a ceramic superstar, Fukami Sueharu is widely honored both in Japan and throughout the world for his serene, crisply modeled sculptures that are on view in major public collections of Japanese art across the United States and beyond. His mature abstract style embodies a contemporary global vision, yet also reflects a traditional Japanese disregard for the time and effort required to produce works of flawless beauty.