Pottery by Yuichiro and Tomoko Suzuki

With our newest feature that released over the weekend with potter Adam Silverman, it seemed a bit rude to post any other pottery as we could be seen to specialise in one specific area. As you know, that’s not the case. But when I homed in on the good work of Japanese duo Yuichiro and Tomo Suzuki, the grainy photographs really inspired me and the aesthetics were nice to match. Actually, I’ve been thinking about taking my own 35mm camera to my local pottery studio, as I’ve been spending quite a bit of time there lately perfecting my skills. I’m not sure they would necessarily fit in with our format here, but maybe they could make an appearance on my personal site instead, giving a glimpse in to the sort of work that I’m personally creating. Nothing as fantastic as these vessels by Yuichiro and Tomo Suzuki, I can only dream of making such perfection.

I’ve also been thinking about how designers create harmony in their work, particularly craftsmen who take a natural material and try to give it a perfect sense of order. The more complex, the harder it is to control and harmonise. I get this feeling myself when it comes to work that has a great amount of detail, you get extra pleasure from not only the elegant appearance, but also the effort that went into making it. You see the physical labor, and you also note what the object was originally and how it was made in to such an item of beauty. I think I’ve figured out that our brain enjoys patterns and frameworks, if we can’t understand something, or if elements look out of place, then we experience a negative feeling. This is why I’m so inspired by reduction, and how we can strip back only to the necessities.

Yuichiro and Tomo Suzuki’s objects are very easy to grasp as a whole, it’s pretty evident what the purpose is and how they should be used. Each one also has those beautiful handmade quirks where you can see the thought and craftsmanship that has gone into them. I thought I’d pick out a selection of images from both their studio and their webpage, but I really do urge you to look through the other. Both have an incredible eye with the camera and can take fantastic photographs, so I’d highly recommend flicking through the ‘works’ page and ‘vessels in use’ area. You won’t be disappointed!

5.kcn.ne.jp/~inima
iichi.com/people/~inima

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