Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics

Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics by Wilson, Richard L.. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781858941561.

Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743) is celebrated as Japans first and foremost individual potter. His reputation is both a product of his own time and of the modern age: the esteem in which he was held in Japan was ignited in the West as critics, art dealers, and collectors vied for his colorfully painted and inscribed work at the beginning of the twentieth century. Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) was the worlds principal collector of Kenzan wares, acquiring artifacts ranging from original pieces by Kenzan to late nineteenth-century forgeries. This range is presented here for the first time. The story of his collection uncovers the secret history of the complex relationships between makers and connoisseurs, between individual creativity and artisanal work, relationships that often operate across centuries. The Potters Brush explores the appropriation of the Kenzan name, detailing two centuries of innovation and reproduction, and charting the evolution of what amounts to a designer brand of ceramics. Abundantly illustrated in full color, with a complete inventory of the Freer Collection, this radical survey offers new ways of looking at both the works themselves and the strategies whereby their status has been established in the art world.