Saiseki zōgan, Receptacle

Kishi Eiko is one of the most celebrated ceramic artists active in Japan today. She trained at Kyoto Arts University and the Ceramic Research Center before establishing her own studio in her native Kyoto. Without an affiliation to any of Japan’s long-standing pottery traditions, she has been free to develop her own unique style. Kishi is known for her laborious saiseki zogan technique, in which she builds geometric forms from Shigaraki clay mixed with pigments, scores many fine lines into the surface, and then applies colored slip, glazes, and clay, resulting in a complex, delicate surface that can appear as if it were stitched.