Introducing Rimpei Watanabe

Introducing Rimpei Watanabe

We are excited to introduce pottery by Japanese Ceramic artist
Rimpei Watanabe. For many years we’ve been sourcing medieval pottery from Japan, with a preference for larger scaled vessels which are difficult to source and challenging to safely pack and ship because of their fragility. I’ve been searching for a contemporary potter whose work shares the same spirit as these ancient vessels while still retaining their own unique voice and presence.

Seeing Rimpei Watanabe’s work for the first time — a large vessel in an old Japanese farmhouse — I was sure I was looking at an antique Bizen-ware jar. I was impressed to learn it was in fact contemporary, made in part in Osaka and fired in Okayama. I was told Rimpei Watanabe utilizes a subterranean anagama kiln, firing for multiple days and using period techniques to achieve something so convincing. 

After connecting with the artist directly, he agreed to send us this collection of works and also let us conduct an interview to learn a little more about the artist and also his technique. I hope you enjoy these new works, and we look forward to hosting Rimpei Watanabe in the gallery in person someday soon.

JOHN: You are from Okayama, which is famous in particular for Bizen-ware ceramics. Are you continuing this tradition? Or do you find yourself mainly experimenting with new forms and materials?

RIMPEI: I like the rugged Bizen ware from the 13th to 15th centuries. It is pottery made using mountain soil and fired in an anagama kiln. An anagama kiln is the oldest form of wood-fired kiln, with no partitions inside and the flames flow straight to the chimney.

When I started making Bizen pottery, the mainstream method was to use highly viscous rice field soil and toss a large amount of charcoal into the climbing kiln at the end of the firing. This technique is called sumi-sangiri. It certainly has a good yield rate and is a modern method that brings out the expression of the charcoal.

However, I am not interested in works made with those techniques and firing methods, so I am exploring more ancient pottery and trying to create the atmosphere of that pottery.

I also think it is important to pick up things from ancient pottery that I think are new.

What is your firing process like? Is it always fired using a wood kiln? How many days do you fire the ceramics?

I always fire in a wood-fired kiln. I fire for two days, but for unglazed ware, I put the pieces in the kiln many times and fire them until I get the look I want.

I see most of your table work has more of a white glaze. What kind of glaze is this and what are the characteristics of this surface?

The glaze is a simple combination of feldspar and wood ash. I often use two techniques. One is called Kohiki, where the shape is made with red clay and then a white coating is applied to the surface. The red clay and the clay used to coat the surface have different properties, so the piece has fine cracks. The other is called Hakeme, where the pattern is created using a brush. I am a big fan of 18th century slipware, and I am very influenced by the black lines that appear between the lines. The artist uses white mud, but the result is black lines that seem to disappear.

I know you are splitting your time between Osaka, and your kiln in Okayama. I was wondering if your home has a rustic feel to it? Or are you living more of an urban life in Osaka? 

I live in Osaka, near Kyoto, away from the centre. I live there with my wife and two children. It's a small place, and I do everything up to the shaping in Osaka. I built a kiln in Okayama and started making pottery, but it didn't go well, so I also had another job in Osaka. About five years ago, I started working solely on pottery. In Okayama, we have a large space where we fire and refine the clay.

Are you attracted to older things like antiques? Or old buildings?

Of course, I am fascinated by and influenced by old things. I am inspired by old temples like the Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto and Muroji Temple at Mt. Muro. My favourite pottery styles are Yayoi, Sueki, Shigaraki, Joseon and Karatsu, quiet and strong, some are foolish, some are lovely. It's not that I like all of these pottery, but there are many things I like among them. The same can be said about music. I love Southern soul, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Sam and Dave and More, stax fame records, reggae, Yabby You, Augustus Pablo, king tubby etc. Rock, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Bob Dylan, The Clash, The Pogues, Glenn Gould and many more.

When it comes to pottery, I was initially drawn to the national treasure Ido tea bowl, but now I am drawn to the ordinary plates and bowls of the Joseon Dynasty. When it comes to music and movies, the things I like are probably not mainstream, and they are always there to encourage me. My favourite films are by Aki Kaurismaki, Jim Jarmusch and Yasujiro Ozu

Favourite books: Grandfather's envelope, Okakura Tenshin's book of tea, and Yanagi Sōetsu. Yanagi Sōetsu’s words are a great source of support when I create pottery.

Do you have some of your work at your own home? Do you have an example of something you have made for yourself? 

I do use some of the things I make, but I don't often give away the tableware I make as gifts or use it in my own home. This is because I think that the things I think are too good for me and should be displayed at exhibitions and the like.

I heard you are digging your own kiln now. What is the process of making a kiln? Is it on your own property? What kind of works are you hoping to fire here?

The kiln will be made of bricks. The anagama I currently have is fully underground, but I plan to make the anagama I'm currently building a little smaller than the existing kiln and change the internal structure. I also plan to make several fire openings on the sides of the new kiln so that more firewood can be put in. I want to give it a structure that makes it easier to perform reduction firing so that it has a look similar to Suzu ware, and I want to increase the number of firing methods I can use.