Thoroughly White

Ceramic Artist, Seiko Wakasugi

Thoroughly white, delicate and sophisticated. Seiko Wakasugi’s white porcelain works epitomize the beauty of curved lines. She receives her inspiration from plants, flowers and gentle body lines and figures which she describes as “feminine.” The precise forms of her porcelain are produced by a method called ikomi, or casting. Almost from the very beginning of her career as a ceramic artist, her focus has always been solely on purely white porcelain.

Why? “At the early stage of my career, I tried some other techniques such as shaping by hand (te-bineri) or using a rokuro (pottery wheel), however, I liked casting because I can contemplate more on the form during the production process compared to other techniques. And the reason why I create only white porcelains is simply because white is the color which makes the figure of the work stand out,” Seiko explains. In other words, Seiko seeks to make her work impress viewers simply by its perfect figure.

In 2015, Seiko had an opportunity to stay in Limoges, France, for a year. Limoges has been a city of ceramics since the late 18th century due to its proximity to the areas where a suitable clay called Kaolin was discovered thus replacing Paris as the main center for private porcelain factories.

“I could have enjoyed my life as a ceramic artist without going to Limoges, but I can say today, that being out of Japan made a significant difference to my life. As a city of ceramics, Limoges gave me a number of fresh perspectives and ideas as well as encounters with new people and works. Living as a foreigner from a different cultural background, I was able to learn how different their communication styles are from ours in Japan. My time in France added a certain depth to my inner self as an artist and as a person,” recalls Seiko.

“I still use casts of my early works which I exhibited in my first solo exhibition nearly 20 years ago. This is one of the good points about ikomi because I can reproduce almost the same items anytime as long as I have the cast. However, even using the same cast, the final work is never identical to former ones. There are many detailed stages to add after casting such as polishing by hand, which gives a unique identity to every piece.”

Not only from looking but also touching Seiko’s white porcelain will show you how precisely and finely she creates every work, from daily utensils like tea cups and pots to conceptual art objects.