“Embrace” - Ceramic Art of Momoko Takeshita Keane
If you love Japanese ceramics like we do, you will be blown away by the stunning works of Momoko Takeshita Keane that we plan to show in a 3-day exhibition from 2022.11.18.
Inspired by images of life experiences, her "Embrace" and "Vessels" series of high-fired clay sculptural pieces have a rustic simplicity that embodies tradition and a contemporary originality that makes her works distinctive.
This is how Momoko's "Curl" came to be an integral part of Genji Kyoto.
We were looking for an artwork to be placed in an alcove by our courtyard zen garden. We already had a classic painting in that space, depicting the "Ukifune" (drifting boat) scene from the Tale of Genji. Both painting and garden were a tribute to the chapter called "Ukifune", a metaphor for the untethered evanescence of human experience. What else would be right for that very Wa space, both visible from our lobby entrance and in close proximity to guests relaxing on the engawa (verandah) of our Ukifune Garden?
As soon as we saw "Curl" we knew it was the perfect fit. A beautiful ceramic sculpture by Kyoto artist Momoko Takeshita Keane, it is shaped like a curled up leaf. But it also looks like a boat, echoing both the boat in the painting above and a boat-like stone in the garden.
As Momoko explains to us, it is a very special work formed by hand-pinching clay into shape, streaking the surface with wood, bamboo and metal tools, and firing for 5 days in a wood-fired kiln. The color and patterns, all natural, are the result of serendipity.
"I feel that the colors are not coming from me, but from the kiln gods," said Momoko in a recent interview.
"The way this work acquired the spots on the surface - some people in the U.S. called it Angel Tears. They come from the firing of wood in the kiln. The ashes and embers adhere to the ceiling and fall naturally onto the cermamic. One cannot dictate the result. Such an appearance produced by the kiln is like a lucky symbol."
Having "Curl" as part of our art collection allows us to showcase a ceramic work of art that is contemporary and innovative yet based on tradition and time-honored techniques, much like the concept behind Genji Kyoto.
It also gave us the idea to host an exhibition of Momoko's ceramics so that they can be seen in a setting designed for enjoying a true Japanese experience, with contemporary zen garden, washi windows and lighting, and furniture inspired by motifs from the Tale of Genji.
Momoko Takeshita Keane’s ceramics works from the “Embrace” series.
It will be an opportunity for our guests to meet and be greeted by the artist's warm smiles and innocent eyes. Momoko, who fell in love with clay as a child, learnt to make ceramics in Kyoto and the historical kiln town of Shigaraki. She learnt to use the anagama wood-fired kiln in the US, and has had her works shown in galleries and art shows in Japan, the US, Korea and Taiwan.
"I studied in a traditional process but now create works in my own way," said Momoko, who has her own studio and kiln and makes mostly sculptural works, with some vases and daily wares.
Ceramic vase by Momoko Takeshita Keane. Image courtesy of the artist.
For our 3-day exhibition (2022.11.18 - 20) Momoko will exhibit 25 pieces from her "Embrace", "Vessel", "Bud", "Germinate", and "Sprout" series.
Given the names and organic feel of the pieces, we asked whether Momoko could have been influenced by her husband Marc Peter Keane, a nature landscapist, author on Japanese gardens and Genji Kyoto's garden designer. The artist replied that while being a nature lover, her works more often have to do with images of life. We invite you to come to our exhibition and see what feelings Momoko's ceramics evoke in each of us.
Some of Momoko’s works to be shown at the exhibition.