233 - KAWABATA KENTARO: ‘CHLONIE,’ AN EXTRAORDINARY BIOMORPHIC CERAMIC AND GLASS SCULPTURE

KAWABATA KENTARO: ‘CHLONIE,’ AN EXTRAORDINARY BIOMORPHIC CERAMIC AND GLASS SCULPTURE By Kawabata Kentaro (b. 1976), signed with the artist's mark Japan, dated 2010, Heisei period (1989-2019) An extraordinary and wildly imaginative sculptural composition, exquisitely modeled in two separate sections, combining ceramic and glass with lustrous silver and cobalt glazes. Rising from a gently flared foot, the astonishingly elongated, asymmetrical body twists and swells into an irregular bulbous form before narrowing into a slender upper section. The surface shimmers with deep cobalt-blue and amethyst tones, interspersed with reddish-purple hues, minute speckles, and dramatic metallic streaks, creating the impression of an otherworldly, almost liquid substance. The upper section culminates in a fantastical assemblage of contorted silver-glazed forms, resembling a grotesque head or crown composed of twisted bones, tangled tendrils, and crumpled metallic folds. Elongated skeletal appendages extend down the sides, lending the composition a bizarre quasi-anthropomorphic appearance. The entire sculpture evokes an alien life form caught in the process of metamorphosis, its impossibly attenuated proportions and surreal anatomy recalling exotic deep-sea creatures and imaginary organisms. The base incised with the artist's mark. HEIGHT 61.8 cm Provenance: A private collection, New York, acquired from Gallery Tosei, Kyoto, Japan, by repute. Condition: Excellent condition. Kawabata Kentaro (b. 1976) is among the most inventive figures in contemporary Japanese ceramics, celebrated for his radically experimental approach to form, material, and surface. Combining ceramics and glass with unconventional glazing techniques and unpredictable firing effects, he creates fantastical objects that hover between the organic and the artificial, the beautiful and the grotesque. He received the prestigious Kamoda Shoji Award in 2004 and the Grand Prize at the Paramita Ceramic Exhibition in 2007. His works are represented in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art. The present sculpture dates to 2010, a pivotal year in Kawabata’s career when he mounted Chlonie at Gallery Hashimoto in Tokyo, his first exhibition at a contemporary art gallery. Featuring experimental sculptural creations, including a monumental work approaching 1.5 meters in height, the exhibition marked an ambitious expansion of his artistic vocabulary. The present work exemplifies this radical imagination, transforming an elegant, towering silhouette into a bizarre, almost extraterrestrial apparition. Neither human nor animal, its skeletal projections and shimmering, supernatural coloration suggest an unsettling life of their own, demonstrating Kawabata’s extraordinary ability to reconcile technical sophistication with uninhibited artistic invention. Literature comparison: Compare a related sculptural work associated with Kawabata Kentaro’s Chlonie series, illustrated in the contemporary announcement for the exhibition Kentaro Kawabata: Chlonie, held at Gallery Hashimoto, Tokyo, 12 November-11 December 2010. The exhibition featured experimental ceramic sculptures, including a monumental work approaching 1.5 meters in height, demonstrating the extraordinary ambition and inventive sculptural language of this important body of work. Video: Prospective bidders are encouraged to view the informative film documenting Kawabata Kentaro’s creative process, produced for the Keiko Art International online exhibition devoted to the artist in 2015, offering fascinating insights into his experimental techniques and sculptural imagination. Here you can watch the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z8G1ecFbwk