Satoru and Kayoko Hoshino: Ceramicists faithful to the nature of clay and its intrinsic attributes

Together, renown ceramicists Satoru and Kayoko Hoshino live and work in their shared studio in the shadow of Mount Horai on the southwest shore of Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake.

She, Kayoko, utilizes an unusual blend of several types of clay, most predominantly the pebbly material from Shigaraki. Modern in their sense of balance, the impressed surfaces feel and look ancient. She says of her work “I often go for a walk in the mountains around this area as a break between working sessions, and I often feel a longing to express the natural expansiveness and monumentality of the landscape in my work.” What is essentially Japanese, and very special, about her work is that she works from nature to achieve the gray color of her material, with clays directly from the earth while others more frequently add pigments and mix their clay from powder.

He, Satoru, was featured alongside 2015’s Gutai star, Kazuo Shiraga, in the curated exhibition at Dominique Levy “Body and Matter”. Said to both explore the informe – the “formless” – both artists embody the essence of Gutai – “the human spirit and the material reach out their hands to each other”. Early on, Satoru espouses the ancient tradition of smoke-infused sculptural work, kokutō, a kind of minimalism not compromised by color, pattern or glaze. He frequently works in installation of multiple pieces, and now has begun to explore glaze, though doesn’t try to control it as it moves freely on this new body of work. What remains consistent are the imprints of his hands, evoking the energy of the maker and the essence of the material.