Sculptural vase “Moku-moku Jōmon Cloud” (古代雲 / Kodai Kumo, “ancient cloud”) – Ishijima Akihiko (石嶋哲彦), 1997

This contemporary Japanese ceramic vase presents itself as an organic form constructed by assembling rounded volumes that meet in an arch, somewhere between sculpture and vessel. The material is raw clay, fired to a deep black, with smoky brown nuances that catch the light on the reliefs. The entire surface is imprinted with swirling, recessed patterns: a vocabulary that visually evokes the textures of ancient Jōmon period pottery, here transposed into a very contemporary, repetitive, and graphic style, like a continuous “skin.” The Japanese title, Kodai Kumo (古代雲), “ancient cloud,” encapsulates this encounter between archaic memory and present-day presence.

The artwork is preserved in its original signed wooden box, titled Kodai Kumo. It is accompanied by the exhibition invitation on which the piece is reproduced, a valuable piece of documentation for its presentation history. The condition is excellent.

Born in Tokyo in 1954, Akihiko Ishijima trained in Japan through apprenticeships, notably with Kaneta Sanzaemon in Hagi from 1974, before going to study at the Royal Art Academy in Denmark in 1979. Upon returning to Japan, he settled in Mashiko in 1981, one of the major centers of modern Japanese ceramics. He has exhibited at the Nihon Tōgeiten (National Ceramics Exhibition) since 1987 and received the Governor's Award in 2013. He was also recognized at the Nihon Dentō Shinsaku Kōgeiten (National New Traditional Crafts Exhibition) in 1989, and won first prize at the Tenri Biennale in 1995 and 1997. He is still listed as active in Mashiko today. We can also point to a lasting presence in public space: a work permanently installed in Tokyo (Shibaura Island) testifies to a recognition beyond the purely commercial circuit.

Dimensions

47.5 × 13 × 36 cm.