Borderless beauty & connection: Japanese potter couple's ceramic art philosophy
Shot by Zhang Long. Edited by Zhang Long.
Pottery tableware has a universal appeal but the ones created by Japanese potter couple Tetsuya and Momoko Otani stand out and for good reasons.
Despite being all white and plain, Tetsuya Otani's pottery pieces all have a smooth matte-glazed texture. The signature matte finish emphasizes their precise and elegant shape.
Based in Shigaraki, Japan, Tetsuya and his wife Momoko run a pottery studio. Unlike Tetsuya's works, Momoko's pottery wares are made with hand-painted elements from nature, such as lotus flower, tree leaves or just simple geometry patterns.
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Pottery exhibits made by Tetsuya Otani at the exhibition.
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Momoko Otani's works at the exhibition.
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Invited by Guanjia, a local exhibition organizer and personal friend of the couple, the Otanis are holding an exhibition of their works in Shanghai from December 16 to 24.
Tetsuya Otani (right) and Momoko Otani pose at the exhibition.
"The basic idea behind our wares is that we want to make something functional and which will fit our life. I hope people who buy our wares will enjoy using them in their daily lives," Momoko said.
The couple's love for making pottery can be traced back to their shared interest in cooking. Their pottery wares are mainly used for holding food, soups and drinks, which is partly the reason why they started making these plates and cups.
Originally Tetsuya wanted to be a car designer and studied design at university during the 1990s. However, with Japan going through economic stagnation, not many companies were hiring.
Later he landed a job teaching pottery design at a local university in Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, a leading pottery-producing area in Japan.
Back then, Momoko was studying at the same university where she met Tetsuya. Starting out as friends, the two fell in love and got married.
The Otani couple with their wares
"My parents grew up in Kyoto, a big city, but they wanted to live a quiet life in the countryside, so they moved from Kyoto to Shigaraki when I was very small. Then they started making pottery. Although they were not rich and didn't own much, they were very happy and content making pottery," Momoko recalled.
"They were doing what they wanted to do. That's a kind of happiness you can't buy," the couple reminisced.
Shigaraki is a town located in Kōka District of Japan's Shiga Prefecture. It is famous for its ceramic kilns since ancient times.
Momoko's parents' choice of life so deeply affected Tetsuya that he decided to have that for himself. Through perseverance and hard work, he taught himself all the things needed to make pottery.
Due to the lack of systematic training and a fixed process ingrained in his pottery-making, he just makes what he feels right and what he intuits as beautiful.
"Maybe that's the reason why his wares are unique and appreciated by so many people around the world," observed Momoko.
In 2008, the couple started their own studio and decided to have the kind of quiet life Momoko's parents had. With the advent of the Internet, the couple's wares have gradually become visible all over the world.
The couple's Instagram account
"A lot of people say when a husband and wife are in the same line of work, sometimes it doesn't work well. I consider myself lucky that me and my husband share the same lifelong hobby and career. We give each other feedback whenever we make something, and we just chat during work," Momoko said.
Visitors at the exhibition on Saturday.
Q: Can you give us a walk through the process of your pottery-making?
"I choose the clay first. We both know what we want to make when we have an idea, so we know which material is good for what we have in mind. The clay I choose is either fine clay, dark, or white. Then I create shapes on which it is easy to paint. I always think about what shape is good for the painting, then the wares are ready to be baked," Momoko explained.
Tetsuya, on the other hand, only makes the shapes on the potter's wheel, so all his works are round. He always uses white soil to make his wares.
Another view of the pottery wares
Q: What's your philosophy behind your pottery?
"You can only find that beauty never changes, like very basic beauty in something simple. When things become so simple, you don't need (any) language to explain why it's beautiful," Tetsuya said.
"I want to create not something Japanese, but something universal. It can be shared by the whole world. It can be used by the young and the old alike. It can be used by an American professional chef, or a Chinese student drinking coffee in their small apartment. I make simple works to eliminate borders."
"I enjoy the communication and connection with the user. In my mind, I always imagine how people are using my pottery while making them. My work can only be completed with the user. Whenever I see people who post my work on social media, I just enjoy seeing how people are using my pottery at home or in restaurants. I like that. That's how it should be," Momoko added.
The Otanis' wares
Q: How does one keep your pottery in perfect condition? Is it okay to use dishwasher to clean your pottery wares?
"Everything that you use never stays in perfect condition. It ages. When you use, you have some stain, sometimes a little crack and chipping. But it's also like a kind of connection between you and the plates. It's perfectly fine to use dishwashers to clean our plates and cups, we do it all the time," Momoko laughed.
If you go:
Date: Dec 19 to 24, 1:30pm-4:30pm
Venue: Jiele Cafe (free admission)
Address: No.7, Lane 148, Wulumuqi Rd. M
The couple's pottery wares can also be bought on their friend Guanjia's Taobao store: ataraxia澄間
For more information, visit Guanjia's WeChat, Weibo and Xiaohongshu accounts: 管家的日子
