About the artwork

Pots were made of Shigaraki clay and in a wood-fired kiln. Some were split at the top, others were gouged, and still others. . . . Artist Kiyotsugu Sawa first formed the shape of the pots on a potter’s wheel, using coarse clay mixed with feldspar, silica, etc., that he had dug up. Then he intentionally split, tore and wrenched the top of the pots, and sometimes smashed them with a stick in the firing stage. His works radiate a primitive energy that comes from the clay itself and the clay-made pottery.